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HISTORICAL    ESSAYS 


JAN  2n918 


ON 


THE  WORSHIP  OF  GOD, 

AND  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  GOSPEL  OF  OUR 
LORD   AND   SAVIOUR. 

ON 

The  Early  Christian  Church 

A.D.  50-150. 

ON 

THE  APOSTLE  PAUL 


AND 


THE  GENTILE  CHURCHES. 


BV^y 


THOMAS    KIMBER 


NEW  YORK 

DAVID  S.   TABER  AND  COMTANY 

56  Lafayette  Place 

1S89 


TO  M  Y  FRIEND 
WILLIAM    H.  S.   WOOD, 

OF  NEW  YORK, 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  GRATEFULLY  INSCRIBED. 


THOMAS    KIMBER. 
Richmond  Hill,  L.  I.,  N.  Y. 


PREFACE. 

The  accompanying  Historical  Treatise  on  "  Worship  and 
the  Ministry,"  together  with  an  appended  outline  sketch  of 
the  "  Early  Christian  Church,"  although  the  fruit  of  many 
years  of  careful  thought  and  study,  have  been  chiefly  pre- 
pared for  publication  during  the  secluded  hours  of  a  long  x 
and  painful  illness.  They  are  now  sent  forth  with  earnest 
prayer  for  the  Lord's  especial  blessing  upon  their  perusal 
and  circulation. 

It  is  believed  that  they  furnish  an  authentic  manual 
both  for  general  reference  and  for  reliable  infonnation  on 
the  important  subjects  of  which  they  treat,  that  will  not 
be  found  elsewhere  in  so  condensed  and  convenient  a  fonn. 

The  Essay  will  be  divided  into  three  parts:— First,  Intro- 
ductory: —  containing  a  review  of  the  general  subject  of 
Divine  Worship,  from  the  earliest  ages  of  the  history  of 
mankind. 

It  is  intended  here  to  show  that  the  gross  idolatry  into 
which  the  Heathen  races  lapsed,  was  not  the  design  or  the 
appointment  of  their  merciful  Creator,  who  had  revealed 
Himself  f  ally  to  our  first  parents  and  to  their  immediate 
successors ;  but  was  the  sad  consequence  of  their  own  diso- 
bedience and  determined  rebellion  against  Him. 


VI  PKEFACE. 

^  The  opening  chapter  will  be  occupied  with  the  questions, 

X  ^^        "  Who  is  the  Lord  save  our  God? "  and  "  What  constitutes 

real  Worship?"     These  of  course  will  be  considered  pri- 

sM  marily  on  direct  Scriptural  evidence  and  authority, — upon 

\|    J  which  indeed  the  argument  of  the  whole  Treatise  mainly 

^     ^  rests;   fortified  however  by  historical  and  critical  annota- 

^^    V  Q^^  tions  where  these  would  throw  light  upon  the  especial  sub- 

d     ^  jj  ^1  i^cts  under  consideration.     If  such  notes  should  appear  at 

S  i^    «    C'any  time  too  frequent  or  too  extended,  let  it  be  borne  in 

.  V;   N    j}     ;^  mind  that  the  sole  object  of  their  presentation  is  to  furnish 

"^  W  4.  lithe  earnest  Student,  or  even  the  thoughtful  Reader  who 

>  I   may  not  have  convenient  access  to  such  authorities,  with 

^  1^  undoubted  evidences  of  the   correctness  of  the  positions 

^|9  taken  in  the  argument  of  the  Essay 

Such  testimonies  are  none  the  less  conclusive  and  impor- 
tant where  unconsciously  given ;  at  times,  it  may  be,  quoted 
in  favor  of  views  of  the  spirituality  of  the  gospel  of  Christ 
reaching  beyond  those  held  personally  by  the  Commentator 
or  the  Historian,  whose  authority  is  nevertheless  fairly 
presented. 

The  Third  Section  will  be  devoted  to  a  consideration 
of  the  "Ministry  of  the  Gospel:"  often  a  very  diiferent 
service  from  Divine  Worship  although  closely  allied  to  it. 
Many  of  the  difficulties,  both  doctrinal  and  practical,  at- 
tending these  deeply  interesting  questions  seem  to  have 
-|-  arisen  largely  from  a  confusion  rather  than  a  wise  recon- 
ciliation of  their  varied  yet  kindred  claims  and  obligations. 
It  is  hoped  that  if  any  should  at  first  be  inclined  to  con- 
sider the  Treatise  on  Worship  as  'too  restricted  for  their 


PREFACE.  Vll 

hearty  acceptance,  they  will  find  in  its  Third  section,  on  the 
Public  Ministry  of  the  Gospel,  that  full  recognition  of  the 
liberty  of  the  Spirit  and  of  the  Lord's  children  under  His 
guidance,  which  this  great  work  of  the  Church  in  the  world 
has  always  required  for  its  successful  accomplishment. 

Tlie  teaching  and  the  practice  of  our  Early  Friends  are 
there  dwelt  upon,  in  the  body  of  the  Essay  as  well  as  in 
the  notes,  because  it  was  deemed  most  important  to  estab- 
lish beyond  question  that  such  liberty  and  such  distinc- 
tions existed  amongst  them. 

The  whole  article  will  be  followed  by  a  Review  of  the 
doctrines  and  example  of  the  Christian  Church,  of  the  first 
two  centuries ;  more  especially  as ,  to  Divine  Worship  and 
the  public  Ministry  of  the  Word. 

T.  K. 


CONTENTS. 


WORSHIP  AND  MINISTRY. 


PAQE 


Object  and  Purpose  of  the  Essay, 8 

Historical  Review  of  Worship  in  All  Ages, 11 

Varied  Mythologies  in  Different  Countries, 17 

Practical  Lesson, 18 

The  Lord  our  God,  the  Creator  of  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth,  .  21 

What  is  Worship  ? 23 

Our  Own  Experience  in  Worship, 26 

Religious  Service  accompanying  Worship, 28 

Silent  Devotions, 30 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

Special  Services 33 

Evangelistic  Ministry  of  the  Early  Friends, 34 

The  Gospel  they  Preached, 36 

Its  Practical  Teaching, 45 

The  Lord's  Anointed 51 

Example  of  the  Early  Church, 54 


THE  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

Introductory,  Declaring  Purpose  of  the  Work,      ....  59 

Outline  Sketch  of  its  Earliest  Years, 65 

Gradual  Unfolding  of  the  Truth 68 

Simplicity  of  Worship, 74 

Reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 75 

Liberty  of  the  Spirit, 76 

Songs  of  Praise, 78 

Vocal  and  Instrumental  Music, 85 

Vocal  Prayer, 88 

Blessings  of  Spiritual  Prayer, 93 


10  CONTENTS. 

CHURCH  ORGANIZATION. 

PAGE 

Elders  or  Bishops  (Overseers), 99 

Ratification  of  Nominations, 106 

Apostles 109 

Prophets 116 

No  Stated  Pecuniary  Reward, 132 

Evangelists, 125 

Teachers, 1^^ 

Deacons 143 

Deaconesses, 1^^ 

Public  Ministry  of  Women, 147 

The  Christian  Life, 151 

Peace  and  Good  Will  to  Men, 154 

The  Theatre  and  the  Arena, 157 

Plainness  of  Dress, 160 

Simplicity  of  Language, l65 

Oaths, 167 

First  Day  of  the  Week 169 

The  Life  of  Trust, 176 

Moderation  and  Temperance, 178 

Avoiding  Controversy, 181 

The  Decadence  of  the  Church, 183 

Decline  of  Gifts 188 

Protestants  in  the  Early  Church, 189 

An  Interior  View  in  the  Fourth  Century, 194 


THE  APOSTLE  PAUL  AND  THE  GENTILE  CHURCHES. 

The  Corinthian  Church, 303 

The  Churches  of  Galatia  and  Colossse, 307 

The  Church  at  Ephesus, 308 

Thessalonica, 309 

The  Church  at  Phihppi, 212 

The  Apostle  John's  Testimony, 316 

Jewish  Ordinances, 330 

New  Revelation  of  the  Gospel, 325 

The  Apostle  Paul's  Faithfulness, 229 

The  Church  at  Antioch, 230 

Gospel  Liberty, 386 

Gospel  Messages 337 

Fulness  of  the  Blessing  of  the  Gospel, 340 

The  Heavenly  Side  of  the  Ministry, .  243 

The  Lord's  Call  and  Our  Choice, 245 


ON  THE  WORSHIP  OF  GOD 


AND   THE 


MINISTRY    OF    THE    GOSPEL    OF    OUR    LORD    AND 
SAVIOUR    JESUS    CHRIST. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

In  all  ages  and  among  all  Peoples  since  the  dispersion  ^ 
of  the  races  of  mankind  at  Babel,  {Gen.  xi.  1-9),  there  have 
prevailed  some  forms  of  worship  even  of  an  "unknown 
God,"  which  attest  the  needs  and  the  aspirations  of  the 
human  soul  for  Divine  support  and  communion ;  as  well  as 
some  consciousness  of  the  obligation  that  is  due  to  such 
superior  Intelligence  or  Power,  for  its  protection  and  deliv- 
erance.* 

Nor  did  the  one  true  God,  the  Almighty  Creator  of  the 

*  The  expression  ''The  Most  High  God^''  in  general  use  among  the 
Phenicians,  as  well  as  in  Greece,  Syi'ia,  Persia,  Babylon  and  Alexandria, 
bore  witness  to  the  unity  of  the  primitive  faith  of  mankind  in  one  su- 
preme Deity. 

"  The  term,  the  Most  High  God,"  says  Professor  Plumptre,  of  King's 
College,  London,  expresses  the  earliest  thought  of  God  which  rises  in 
the  mind  of  man,  as  he  looks  upward  to  the  firmament  of  heaven,  and 
is  led  to  believe  in  One  on  high,  in  the  infinite  distance,  above  him. 

"  Melchizedek  blesses  Abraham  in  "  the  name  of  "  the  Most  High 
God,  the  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth."    {Gen.  xiv.  19.) 

In  the  song  of  Moses  the  term  connects  itself  with  the  thought  of  a 
wider,  a  more  universal  kingdom  than  that  embodied  in  the  theocracy 
of  Israel;  {Deut.  xxxii.  8.)  "When  the  Most  High  divided  to  the  na-  y<- 
tions  their  inheritance,"  etc.  The  words  assert  a  truth  which  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  were  constantly  in  danger  of  forgetting,  that  God  was 
not  their  God  only, — that  the  Gentiles  also  might  claim  a  fellowship 
in  the  blessedness  of  His  kingdom." — {Plumptre'' s  Biblical  Studies, 
pp.  19-35.) 


12 


HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 


^     ^ 


0^ 


heavens  and  the  earth,  even  when  He  suffered  the  nations 
to  walk  in  their  own  ways,  leave  Himself  during  those  long 
years  of  estrangement  without  a  witness  m  every  soul  that 
He  had  made;  seeing  that  continually  "  He  did  them  good, 
and  gave  them  from  heaven  rains  and  fruitful  seasons,  fill- 
ing their  hearts  with  food  and  gladness."— (Aci^5,  xiv.  16, 17.) 
^  Why  He  thus  permitted  them  so  long  to  wander  in  dark- 
ness and  superstition  we  cannot  tell.  We  are  only  assured 
that  their  forefathers  had  known  and  worshipped  the  one 
true  and  living  God,*  but  that  their  descendants  had  wil- 
fully rejected  Him;  and  that  His  "long-suffering  waited 
for  them  in  the  days  of  Noah,"  (1  Peter,  iii.  20),  until  "the 
Flood  came  and  destroyed  them  all."— (i/^^^'e,  xvii.  27.) 
Yet  even  this  fearful  judgment  was  soon  forgotten  by  the 


V 


t 


si 


*"  Heathenism,"  writes  Meyer,  "is  not  the  primeval  rehgion  out  of 
whicli  men  gradually  advanced  to  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God :  but 
it  is  the  consequence  of  falling  away  from  the  primitive  revelation  of 
God  in  His  works." 

Rawhnson  thus  confirms  this  judgment:  "The  same  original  belief 
in  one  God  may  be  traced  in  Egyptian,  Indian,  and  Greek  mythology ; 
and  this  accordance  of  early  traditions  agrees  with  the  Indian  notion 
that  truth  was  originally  deposited  with  men,  but  gradually  slumbered, 
^  and  was  forgotten.'"— {Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  Book  II.,  appendix; 
Sj^eaker's  Com.,  Romans  i.  22.) 

"The  original  and  pure  consciousness  of  God,  implanted  by  the 
Creator  Himself,  became  corrupted  by  the  apostasy  of  man :  and  in- 
stead of  fastening  upon  the  true  God  alone,  had  confounded  God  with 
nature,  the  Creator  with  creation,— and  thus  produced  pantheism  and 
polytheism  in  their  manifold  forms  and  with  their  manifold  enormi- 
ties."—(6rwer*c/ce's  Church  Histoid,  Intr.  p.  i.) 

Eusebius  says :  "  For  immediately  in  the  beginning,  after  that  happy 
state,  the  first  man,  neglecting  the  Divine  commands,  fell  into  the  pres- 
ent afflicted  condition;  and  exchanged  his  former  Divine  e«joyment 
^  for  the  present  earth,  subject  to  the  curse.  The  descendants  of  this 
one  commenced  a  brutal  and  disorderly  mode  of  life ;  exterminating 
the  very  seeds  of  reason  and  culture  of  the  human  mind  by  a  total  sur- 
render of  themselves  to  every  species  of  inquity.'"— {Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory, p.  19.) 


WORSHIP   AND   MINISTRY.  13 

children  of  its  few  survivors,  and  we  read  in  the  Sacred 
Records  that  the  Lord,  because  He  was  unwilling  again  to 
destroy  the  human  race,  scattered  the  jDeoples  over  the  face  of 
the  earth  and  confounded  their  language,  in  order  to  defeat 
their  purposes  of  open  rebellion  against  Him. — {Gen.  xi.  1-9.) 

Long  afterward  it  is  again  Divinely  recorded  of  these 
outcasts,  that  God  had  still  continued  to  manifest  Himself 
to  them ;  so  that  they  "  were  without  excuse,  because  that 
knowing  God,  they  glorified  Him  not  as  God  neither  gave 
thanks ;  but  became  vain  in  their  reasonings  and  their  sense- 
less heart  was  darkened,  and  they  changed  the  glory  of  the 
incorruptible  God  for  the  likeness  of  an  image  of  corrupti- 
ble man,  and  of  birds  and  four-footed  beasts  and  creeping 
things."  * 

And  even  "  as  they  refused  to  have  God  in  their  knowl- 
edge, God  gave  them  over  unto  a  reprobate  mind;  so  that 
they  exchanged  the  truth  of  God  for  a  lie,  and  worshii)ped 
and  served  the  creature  rather  than  the  Creator,  who  is 
blessed  for  ever.  Amen."— (i?o??Z(27i5,  i.  19-29,  R.  A^.) 

The  universal  testimony,  both  of  sacred  and  profane  His- 

*  Origen,  speaking  particularly  of  the  Egyptians,  says :  "  When  you 
approach  their  sacred  places,  they  have  glorious  groves  and  chapels, 
temples  with  goodly  gates  and  stately  porticos,  and  many  mysterious 
and  religious  ceremonies;  but  when  once  you  are  entered  within  their 
temples,  you  shall  see  nothing  but  a  cat,  or  an  ape,  or  a  crocodile,  or  a 
goat,  or  a  dog,  worshipped  with  the  most  solemn  veneration." — {Adv. 
Cehtis,  I.  III.  S.  17.) 

Justin  Martyr  testifies : 

"  That  the  gods  of  the  Gentiles  were  at  best  but  demons,  impure  and 
unclean  si)ii"its,  who  had  long  imposed  upon  mankind;  and  by  their 
villanies,  sophistries,  and  arts  of  terror,  had  so  affrighted  the  common 
people,  who  knew  not  what  they  were,  that  they  called  them  gods: 
and  that  they  really  were  nothing  but  devils,  fallen  and  apostate 
spirits."— (^i>o^.  I.  S.  G.) 


14  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS, 

tory,  confirms  the  fearful  moral  and  spiritual  degradation 
of  the  Heathen  nations,  even  at  the  period  of  their  greatest 
temporal  prosperity  and  power.  Priests  and  people  were 
hopelessly  sunk  in  debauchery  and  crime,  and  the  philoso- 
phers and  the  statesmen  of  the  Empire  made  no  secret  of 
their  contempt  for  the  superstitions  and  abominations  pro- 
tected by  the  law  and  imposed  on  the  ignorant  masses.* 

We  read  that  they  not  only  worshij^ped  idols  of  wood 
and  stone,  but  imaginary  deities  of  good  and  evil ;  the  vilest 
reptiles  that  crawl  on  the  earth  being  often  enshrined  in  the 
costliest  temples  and  invested  with  Divine  attributes  and 
honors. 

Even  then  however  their  gracious  and  merciful  God  bore 
with  them  from  generation  to  generation  and  overlooked 
much  "  in  those  times  of  their  ignorance,  when  they  thought 

*  Neander  thus  notes ;  "  Seneca  said  in  his  tract  'Against  Supersti- 
tion,' '  The  whole  of  that  vulgar  crowd  of  gods,  which  for  ages  past  a 
Protean  superstition  has  been  accumulating,  we  shall  worship  in  this 
sense,  viz.,  that  we  ever  remember  the  worship  we  pay  them  is  due 
Y  rather  to  good  manners,  than  to  their  own  worth.  All  such  rites  the 
sage  will  observe,  because  they  are  commanded  by  the  laws,  not  be- 
cause they  are  pleasing  to  the  gods.'  " 

"  Plutarch  is  filled  with  sadness,  in  thinking  of  those  who  take  part 
in  the  public  worship,  only  from  respect  to  the  multitude,  while  they 
look  upon  the  whole  thing  as  a  farce.  They  hypocritically  mimic  the 
Y  forms  of  prayer  and  adoration,  out  of  fear  of  the  many ;— repeat  words 
that  contradict  their  philosophical  convictions ,  and  when  they  offer, 
see  in  the  priests  only  the  slaughtering  cook.:'— {History  Christian 
Church,  vol.  L,  pp.  7,  8,  21.) 

Octavius,  in  Minutius  Felix,  testifies  of  the  Heathen :  "  That  they 
entertained  the  most  absurd  and  fabulous  notions  of  their  gods,  and 
usually  ascribed  such  things  to  them  as  would  be  accounted  an  horri- 
ble shame  and  dishonor  to  any  wise  and  good  man ;  the  worship  and 
mysterious  rites  of  many  of  them  being  so  brutish  and  filthy,  that  the 
honester  and  severer  Romans  were  ashamed  of  it,  and  therefore  over- 
turned their  altars,  and  banished  them  out  of  the  roll  of  their  deities, 
though  their  degenerate  posterity  took  them  in  again."— (i/iw.  Fel.,  c. 
28.) 


WORSHIP   AND   MINISTRY.  15 

the  Godhead  was  like  unto  gold  or  silver  or  stone,  graven  by 
art  and  device  of  man." — {Acts,  xvii.  29,  R.Y.) 

Since  His  personal  coming  on  this  earth,  as  a  "  Light  to 
lighten  the  Gentiles,"  our  Lord  has  more  especially  called 
and  is  calling  them,  through  His  messengers,  to  repentance 
and  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  His  gospel ;  which  would  re- 
veal to  them  the  glory  of  the  "  Unknown  God  "  whom  they 
had  so  long  ignorantly  worshipped,  "  who  hath  made  of  one 
blood  all  the  nations  of  men  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the 
earth,"  and  who  would  have  them  all  to  seek  after  and  find 
Him  "  who  is  not  far  from  every  one  of  them,  for  in  Him  they 
all  live  and  move  and  have  their  being." — {Acts,  xvii.  23-30.)        ^  ^ 

Nor  can  we  doubt  that  He  has  condescended  to  their  low    «>i     ^  :^ 
estate  in  these  long  years  of  their  darkness,  and  that  often    N     ^ 
their  blind  petitions  have  been  heard  and  their  sincere  de-    f  '  v^ 
votions  regarded  by  Him,  even  though  they  were  addressed     ^^    i^     (: 
to  a  God  whom  they  knew  not.     We  believe  most  assuredly  ,  ^ 
that  many  of  these  ignorant  worshippers  will  be  found  at  ^     ^  1"  i^ 
last  in  that  "  great  multitude,  which  no  man  can  number,  >  C 
out  of  every  nation  and  of   all   tribes  and   peoples   and     ^ 
tongues,  standing  before  the  throne  and  before  the  Lamb,  / 
arrayed  in  white  robes  and  with  palms  in  their  hands." —     ^ 
{Bev.  vii.  9,  E.V.) 

It  is  deeply  instructive  to  trace  in  the  historical  records     ^ 
of  the  great  Heathen  nations  of  the  earth,  the  faint  gleams 
of  Divine  light  and  truth  that  may  be  recognized  in  all  their 
religious  systems,  however  dark  and  erroneous  those  may 
be  as  a  whole. 

These  furnish  abundant  corroborative  evidence  that  the 


r 


16  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

Lord  had  never  utterly  withdrawn  His  Holy  Spirit  from, 
them,  even  in  their  lowest  condition ;  and  that  through  His 
direct  revelation,  as  well  as  through  the  traditions  of  their 
earlier  and  better  days,  some  glimmering  knowledge  of  the 
God  of  their  fathers  was  preserved  amongst  them,  amid  all 
the  superstition  and  gross  wickedness  that  enshrouded  it. 

The  Vedas  and  the  Zend  Avesta,  and  other  sacred  books 
of  the  great  Aryan  and  Oriental  races,  which  contain  the 
outlines  of  the  mythologies  of  the  ancient  Indian  and  Per- 
sian Empires, — as  well  as  the  voluminous  records  of  the 
lives  and  teachings  of  Buddha  and  of  Confucius,  which 
have  influenced  for  centuries  the  minds  and  hearts  of  many 
millions  under  the  Chinese  and  Tartar  dynasties, — have  been 
largely  opened  up  to  us  of  latter  time,  through  their  vari- 
ous English  translations  under  the  superintendence  of  Prof. 
Max  Muller  of  Oxford.  Amid  a  vast  mass  of  puerile  and 
worthless  inventions  and  superstitions,  there  shine  here  and 
there,  like  Jewels  amid  the  dust  of  ages,  some  bright  gems 
of  Divine  truth  and  Heavenly  wisdom, — which  could  only 
have  found  their  way  there  through  the  revelation  of  the 
God  of  Truth,  HimseK. 

The  Rationalist  or  the  Sceptic  may  falsely  quote  these 
passages  in  disparagement  of  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
one  true  faith ;  and  some  may  point  to  them  as  evidences  of 
the  triumph  of  purely  human  intelligence  and  thought, — 
which  they  profess  to  consider  as  rivalling  in  wisdom  the 
deepest  and  highest  truths  of  revelation.  The  humble  be- 
liever in  the  God  of  the  Christian's  Bible,  however,  can  trace 
with  reverent  thankfulness  and  assurance,  the  identity  of  all 


WOKSIIIP   AND    MIIs'ISTKY.  17 

that  is  pure  and  good  and  true,  all  that  is  in  any  degree    y^ 
worthy  of  preservation  in  these  voluminous  records,  with 
the  glorious  and  everlasting  realities  unfolded  to  us  in  that 
precious  volume  of  Divine  inspiration. 

VARIED.    MYTHOLOGIES. 

The  mythology  of  Greece  and  Rome  bore  little  resem- 
blance to  that  of  India  or  Persia  or  Egj^Dt  or  of  the  great 
Tartar  Empires.  It  wiU  be  found,  however,  that  all  these 
nations  agreed  in  some  vague  ideas  of  a  great  First  Cause, 
a  mighty  Power  for  Good  and  a  contending  Power  for  Evil ; 
with  numberless  inferior  and  subordinate  Powers  who  must 
be  propitiated,  in  order  to  secure  their  favor  or  to  avert  their 
vengeance.* 

Little  or  no  idea  of  a  loving  and  Almighty  Creator  and 
Upholder  of  aU  things,  who  delighted  in  the  happiness  of 
His  creatures  and  would  answer  their  earnest  petitions, 
seems  ever  to  have  jienetrated  their  darkened  minds.  And 
yet,  as  has  been  noted  above,  some  faint  shadows  at  least  of 
Divine  light  and  truth,  are  to  be  seen  throughout  their 
various  systems. 

They  disclaimed  unive-rsally  any  intention  to  worship  the 

*  Mosheim  speaks  of  these  various  religious  systems :  "  Throughout 
every  nation,  a  general  belief  prevailed,  tliat  all  things  were  subordi- 
nate to  an  association  of  powerful  spirits,  who  were  called  Gods,  and 
^  whom  it  was  incumbent  on  every  one  Avho  wished  for  a  happy  and 
prosperous  course  of  life  to  worship  and  conciliate.  One  of  these  (jlods 
was  supposed  to  excel  the  rest  in  dignity,  and  to  possess  a  super-emi- 
nent authority." 

"  Each  nation  had,  however,  its  peculiar  deities,  differing  from  those 
of  other  countries,  not  only  in  their  names  but  in  their  nature  and 
their  attributes.  "—(^arZy/  Christian  Church,  vol.  i.,  pp.  14-28.) 

Otlifir  Historians,  ancient  and  modern,  bear  the  same  testimony. 
2 


18 


HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 


^ 


N 


image  wliich  they  had  made  Avith  their  own  hands,  or  the 
animal  or  reptile  they  had  deified  and  enshrined.  These 
they  said  were  only  regarded  as  emblems  of  the  divinities 
whom  they  really  adored.  With  them  all  was  a  longing 
for  something  that  would  answer  more  fully  to  the  needs  of 
their  immortal  souls. 

It  is  deeply  interesting  to  learn,  from  the  historical  records 
of  the  early  days  of  Christianity,  how  immediate  and  how 
wonderful  was  the  change  everywhere  wrought  in  the  reli- 
gious and  moral  condition  of  the  jjeoples,  through  their  ac- 
ceptance of  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour. 

Eusebius  thus  notes;  "Under  a  celestial  influence  the  doctrine  of 

the  Saviour,  like  the  rays  of  the  sun,  quickly  irradiated  the  whole 

^Ss.  i^       world.     Presently,  in  accordance  with  divine  jjrophecy,  the  sound  of 

His  inspired  Evangelists  had  gone  throughout  all  the  earth,  and  their 

words  to  the  end  of  the  world.     Throughout  every  city  and  village, 

"^  ^  's.'s  '      churches  were  found  rapidly  abounding,  and  filled  with  numbers  from 

■s     ^  every  people.     Those  who  had  been  fettered  by  the  ancient  idolatrous 

^     ^      A      superstitions,  were  now  liberated  by  the  power  of  Christ.     They  at 

^     ^     v  \     once  renounced  the  whole  multitude  of  gods  and  demons,  and  confessed 

bv       that  there  was  only  one  true  God,  the  Creator  of  all  things :  whom  they 

now  honored  with  that  inspired  and  reasonable  worship  introduced 

\4,^  among  men  by  our  Saviour." — {Ecclesiastical  History^  p.  52,  53.) 

Nor  was  it  only  in  their  outward  forms  of  worship  that 
this  great  revolution  was  manifested.  On  their  individual 
lives  there  had  now  dawned  a  new  light,  and  a  bright  eternal 
hope;  under  the  softening  influences  of  which  there  soon 
grew  around  them  the  sweet  amenities  of  the  fireside  and 
the  family,  with  all  the  countless  blessings  of  Christian  civ- 
ilization. 


\ 


PKACTICAL. 

The  great  practical  question  for  us,  over  all  other  consid- 
erations, is  this:  have  we  realized  for  ourselves,  that  wonder- 


WORSHIP  AND   MINISTRY.  19 

fill  change  to  liave  been  thus  wrought  in  our  own  lives  and 
in  all  our  life's  purposes,  by  a  heart-felt  acceptance  of  the 
gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  ? 

For  it  is  evident  that  the  Agnostic,  or  the  Atheistic  Evo-  \ 
lutionist  of  our  day,  living  without  an  assured  hope  in    ^ 
Christ,  has  really  nothing  restful  or  soul  satisfying  in  his 
theories,  while  i^ersisting  in  his  own  ignorant  unbelief. 

"  I  know  not,"  says  the  one ;  "  it  may  all  be  true  what  you 
say  about  your  Bible  and  your  God.   We  cannot  reasonably  y 
be  expected  to  believe  what  we  cannot  comprehend.     I  do 
not  deny,  but  I  do  not  accept  your  creed." 

"  The  laws  of  natural  selection," — asserts  the  other  with  a 
blind  confidence, — "the  progressive  development  of  the 
gaseous,  the  liquid  and  then  tlie  solid  forms  of  matter,  and  -^ 
these  again  into  the  lower  grades  of  primordial  vegetable 
and  animal  life,  until  by  slow  evolution  we  reach  the  higher 
forms  of  physical  and  even  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  life, 
— these,  we  contend,  will  afford  a  sufficient  explanation  of 
all  that  we  see  going  on  around  us  in  Nature." 

In  such  a  labyrinth  of  cunningly  devised  fables,  in  such  a 
dreary  desert  of  belief  or  of  unbelief, 

"Loveless,  joyless,  unendearetl," 

these  poor  souls  thus  condemn  themselves  hopelessly  to 
wander. 

No  kind  and  loving  Heavenly  Parent  is  known  by  them 
to  watch  over  the  daily  needs  of  His  children  or  to  listen  to 
their  faintest  cry,— no  tender  pitying  Saviour  to  atone  for 
their  conscious  sins  and  to  make  intercession  even  for  their  / 


20  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

unconscious  infirmities, — no  blessed  Holy  Spirit  to  comfort 
tlieir  hearts  and  to  guide  them  into  all  truth. 

This  one  true  God  is  seemingly  to  them  as  all  unknown 
and  as  really  rejected,  as  by  the  Heathen  nations  of  the 
earth  in  our  own  or  in  other  days. 

Sad  as  the  fact  may  be  that,  in  this  glorious  noon  day  of 
the  Gospel  in  which  we  live,  the  larger  portion  of  the  human 
race  seems  even  yet  to  be  wrapped  in  idolatry  and  gross 
spiritual  darkness,  (however  some  necessary  contact  with  the 
Christian  nations  of  the  world  may  have  partially  amelior- 
ated their  social  and  moral  condition),  yet  it  is  scarcely  less 
to  be  lamented  that  amongst  those  professing  Christianity, 
so  few  individuals,  comparatively,  are  living  in  the  real 
enjoyment  of  its  high  privileges  and  in  true  accordance 
with  its  holy  j^recepts. 

How  few  can  look  up  with  confidence  to  God  and  call 
Him,  Father ;  * — which  spirit  of  adoption  is  held  to  be  the 
crowning  glory  of  the  ISTew  Covenant  dispensation !  How 
few  are  found  worshipping  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth! 
How  few  are  willing,  with  the  disciple  of  old,  to  fall  at  the 
feet  of  His  dear  Son,  our  Saviour,  and  hail  Him,  "  My  Lord 
and  my  God!  " 

May  we,  to  whom  this  great  privilege  is  given,  of  knowing 

y;  *Dean  Stanley  thus  regards  it : 

"  The  more  we  think  of  the  Supreme,  the  more  we  try  to  imagine 
what  His  feehngs  are  toward  us,  the  more  our  idea  of  Him  becomes 
fixed,  as  in  the  one  simple,  all  embracing  thought  that  He  is  our 
Father.  The  word  has  been  given  to  us  by  Christ,  Himself.  Whereas 
it  is  so  used  three  times  in  the  Old  Testament  it  is  used  over  two  hun- 
dred times  in  the  New.  But  it  was  the  continuation  of  what  was  called 
by  Tertullian  the  Testimony  of  the  naturally  Christian  soul:  " tesU- 
moninm  animce  naturaliter  Christianw:'— {Stanley's  Christian  Imti- 
ttitiuns,  p.  298.) 


WORSHIP   OF   THE   LORD   OUR   GOD.  21 

wliom  we  worship  and  of  worshipping  whom  we  know, 
{John,  iv.  22,  23,  R.  V.),  not  only  joyfully  embrace  it,  but 
carefully  cherish  the  sacred  truths  committed  to  us,  of  the 
simplicity  and  spirituality  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ;  zealously  ^ 
guarding  them  from  all  human  inventions  or  interventions; 
so  that  our  fellowship  and  direct  communion  may  be  per- 
fectly maintained  with  the  Father  and  with  His  Son,  through 
the  Eternal  Holy  Spirit. 


WORSHIP  OF  THE  LORD  OUR  GOD. 

Worship  involving  as  it  does  the  recognition  of  a  su- 
preme right  to  reverent  obedience  and  praise,  we  can  readily 
understand  why  the  Almighty  Creator  of  the  Universe  re- 
served, with  most  especial  injunction,  that  solemn  tribute 
from  His  intelligent  creatures,  to  Himself  alone. 

He  tells  us  again  and  again,  in  varied  language,  that  "  The 
Lord  our  God  is  a  jealous  God  "  and  will  not  share  with  an- 
other His  Divine  prerogatives  and  claims ;  and  He  forbids 
the  worship  of  any  image  or  likeness,  of  gold  or  silver  or 
brass  or  of  wood  or  stone,  or  of  any  device  of  the  hand  of 
man,  or  of  the  imaginations  of  his  heart. 

He  warns  too  the  i)eople  against  the  danger  of  mistaking  ~7^ 
the  grandeur  of  His  outward  creation,  for  the  glory  of  the 
Almighty  Creator: 

"  Lest  thou  lift  up  thine  eyes  unto  heaven  and  when  thou 
seest  the  sun  and  the  moon  and  the  stars,  even  all  the  host 
of  heaven,  shouldst  be  driven  to  worship  them  and  serve 


22 


HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 


tliem,  which  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  divided  unto  all  na- 
tions under  the  whole  heavens." — {Deut.  iv.  19.)  * 

And  yet  it  was  to  these  very  Heavens,  as  His  handiwork, 
and  to  the  glories  of  the  outward  creation,  that  the  Lord  in 
all  ages  seems  to  have  loved  to  direct  His  people,  as  the  evi- 
dences of  His  own  Almighty  power  and  to  prove  that  noth- 
ing was  impossible  with  Him. 

He  led  forth  Abram  from  his  tent  and  bade  him  look  up 
to  the  countless  multitude  of  the  starry  hosts,  that  he  might 
reassure  himself  as  to  the  fulfillment  of  all  of  God's  ever- 
lasting covenant  promises  to  him  and  to  his  descendants. — 
{Gen.  XV.  5.) 

The  Lord  spoke  like  words  of  comfort  to  His  i)eople  long 
afterward,  through  His  prophet  Isaiah;  that  none  should 
faint  or  fail  through  a  fear  that  "  the  Everlasting  God,  the 
Creator  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  had 
forgotten  the  least  of  His  children,  or  could  grow  weary  of 
their  deliverance.— (/^a/^Z',  xl.  1,  22,  26-29.) 

He  appeals  at  another  time,  "  I  am  He  that  comforteth 
you.  Who  art  thou,  that  thou  art  afraid  of  man  that  sliall 
die,  .  .  .  and   hast    forgotten    the    Lord  thy  Maker  that 


*  The  following  well-known  and  ancient  legend  of  Abraham  is  valu- 
able as  an  illustration  of  the  natural  trend  of  early  thought 

"  When  night  overshadowed  him  he  saw  a  star,  and  said  '  This  is  my 
Lord.'  But  when  it  set,  he  said  '  I  like  not  those  that  set.'  And  when 
he  saw  the  moon  rising,  he  said  '  This  is  my  Lord.'  But  when  the  moon 
set  he  answered,  '  Verily  if  my  Lord  direct  me  not  in  the  right  way,  I 
shall  be  as  one  of  those  that  err.'  And  when  he  saw  the  sun  rising,  he 
said,  '  This  is  my  Lord.  This  is  greater  than  the  star  or  the  moon.' 
But  when  the  sun  went  down,  he  said,  '  O  my  people,  I  am  clear  of 
these  things,  I  turn  my  face  to  Him  who  hath  made  the  heavens  and 
the  earth.' — {Stanley'' s  Jewish  Church,  vol.  i.,  p.  19.) 


WORSHIP   OF  THE   LORD   OUR  GOD.  23 

stretched  forth  the  Heavens  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
earth.:'— {IsalaJi,  li.  12,  15,  E.Y.) 

Again  and  again  the  Psalmist,— whether  Moses  or  David 
or  another, — finds  a  boundless  and  endless  theme  of  praise 
and  adoration  in  the  variations  of  this  grand  thought.  "  Be- 
fore ever  Thou  hadst  formed  the  earth  and  the  world,  even 
from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  Thou  art  God."  (xc.)  "  The 
heavens  are  Thine,  the  earth  also  is  Thine,  Thou  hast  cre- 
ated them.  Blessed  is  the  people  that  know  the  Joyful 
sound.  They  walk,  O  Lord,  in  the  light  of  Thy  counte- 
nance."—(Ixxxix.  11,  12,  15,  R.V.)  >^ 

"  When  I  consider  Thy  heavens,  the  work  of  Thy  fingers,  w^^  cnM^^ve^ 
the  moon  and  the  stars  which  Thou  hast  ordained,  what  is  'j'^  ^^^^^^  ^  j 
man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him,  and  the  son  of  man  that  ^^  ,  ^  i  h- 
Thou  visitest  him?  O  Lord,  our  Lord,  how  excellent  is  Th.j£j^^^^A^ 
Name  in  all  the  earth."— (viii.  3,  4,  9.)  >  fAt^ixd.^ 

It  would  seem  as  though  the  Holy  Spirit  had  delighted  in  A^.,;^,.<^ir-  i 
all  ages  thus  to  glorify  God  the  Father,  and  God  the  Son.  ^  ^V7*k^/m?^^ 
See  2  Kings,  xix.  15;  Jeremiah,  xxxii.  17;  John,  i.  1-3;  Coloss.  Mc^ alnu.'^^ 
i.  16, 17;  Hebrews,  i.  1-9;  Rev.  iv.  11 ;  and  many  other  places.  C^^^''^*''-^'^-*^ 

As  the  poor  finite  soul  of  man  is  enabled,  through  these 
evidences  of  Almighty  power,  to  comprehend  somewhat  of 
the  infinite  attributes  of  the  great  Creator  of  the  Universe, 
it  can  joyfully  adopt  the  adoring  response  of  the  Psalmist: 
"  This  God  is  our  God  forever  and  ever." — (xlviii.  14.)      '  . 

WHAT  IS   WORSHIP? 

We  have  been  considering  the  solemn  question,  "  Who  is 
God  save  the  Lord: "  the  "Creator  of  the  heavens  and  the 


s^i/ 


24  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

earth? "  Let  us  turn  in  this  connection  to  the  deeply  inter- 
esting subject  of  Worship.  What  is  true  worship?  What 
is  its  nature,  and  what  its  manifest  purpose  ? 

On  these  points  the  testimony  both  of  sacred  and  profane 
history  is  clear  and  consistent.  Worship  is,  in  the  first 
Nc  place,  a  complete  prostration  of  the  soul  before  its  object;  * 
whether  the  heart  of  the  worshipper  be  directed  toward  the 
vain  imaginations  of  the  heathen,  or  to  the  one  true  and 
living  God. 

AVe  read  in  Genesis  (xxiv.  26,  48,  52)  how  Eliezer,  the 
faithful  servant  of  Abraham,  though  himself  an  alien, 
"  bowed  himself  down  to  the  earth  and  worshipped  the  Lord 
God  of  his  master  Abraham ;  "  f  in  Hebrews  (xi.  21),  how 
\  ■  ^^"  Jacob  bowed  on  the  top  of  his  staff  and  worshipped;  in 
"^  '  Exodus  (iv.  31),  how  the  children  of  Israel  "bowed  their 

heads  and  worshipped." 

SILENT   ADORATION. 

With  the  Oriental  nations,  especially,  the  first  act  of  their 
worship  has  always  consisted  in  a  devout  and  silent  humi- 
liation of  soul  and  body  before  the  object  of  their  adoration. 
This  was  equally  the  case  where  their  god  happened  to  be, 
for  the  moment,  a  dumb  idol  or  a  living  creature;  or  as  with 

*The  Greek  word  {n-poaKviiu)^  rendered  "to  uiorshrp^''  more  than 
y,  fifty  times  in  the  New  Testament,  hterally  means  to  kiss  (the  feet)  or 
to  prostrate  one's  self  before  the  object  of  adoration.  Another  word, 
/fzTpfrw— occasionally  translated  "  worship  "  in  the  King  James  version- 
more  properly  signifies  service,  and  is  so  generally  rendered  in  the  re- 
vised text. 

t  Dean  Stanley  says :  "Abraham  is  the  first  distinct  historical  witness, 
at  least  for  his  own  race  and  country,  to  monotheism ;  to  the  unity  of 
the  Lord  and  Ruler  of  all,  against  the  prevailing  idolatries.— (*Stow%'i' 
Jewish  Church,  vol.  i.,  p.  18.) 


WORSHIP   OF  THE   LORD    OUR   GOD.  25 

the  followers  of  Zoroaster,  the  sun  or  the  moon  or  the  heav- 
enly bodies. 

Of  the  Jews  also,  we  read  that  "  it  was  their  ancient  cus-  >c 
torn,  on  entering  the  synagogue,  to  remain  for  some  time  in 
reverent  silence ;  that  they  might  meditate  upon  the  Divine 
attributes  and  majesty  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  before 
whom  they  presented  themselves." — {See  Bingliam'^s  Anil- 
qicities,  Vol.  V.,  Book  xiii..  Chaps.  11,  12.) 

The  Old  Covenant  Scrii)tures  are  full  of  solemn  admoni- 
tions to  the  worshipper,  thus  in  reverent  prostration  of  soul 
to  draw  near  silently  to  the  Lord  God,  who  sits  on  the  circle 
of  the  earth  and  the  inhabitants  thereof  are  but  as  grass- 
hoppers before  Him. 

"  Be  silent  all  flesh,  before  the  Lord:  for  He  is  waked  up 
(arising)  out  of  His  holy  habitation." — {Zecli.  ii.  13,  R.V.) 

"  The  Lord  is  in  His  holy  temple :  let  all  the  earth  keep 
silence  before  Him."— (//«7>.  ii,  20,  R.V.) 

"My  soul,  wait  (hou  only  upon  God,  (be  thou  silent  unto 
God,  margin),  for  my  exjDectation  is  from  Him." — {Psalm 
Ixii.  5.) 

"  Praise  waiteth  for  Thee,  O  God,  in  Zion  (or.  There  shall 
be  silence  before  Thee,  and  praise,  O  God,  in  Zion.") — (R. 
Y.  margin.)     {Psalm  Ixv.  1.) 

"  Keep  silence  before  Me,  O  islands  (O  countries,  margin), 
and  let  the  peoples  renew  their  strength:  let  them  come 
near,  then  let  them  si)eak." — {Isaiali,  xli.  1.) 

"  I  will  hear  what  God  the  Lord  will  speak,"  said  the 
Psalmist,  "  for  He  will  si)eak  peace  unto  His  peox^le  and  to 
His  saints." — {Psalm  Ixxxv.  8,  R.Y.) 


26  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

But  how  can  we  hear,  unless  we  "  draw  nigh  to  God  "  and 
V       "  incline  our  ear  unto  Him ;  "  reverently  awaiting  His  life- 
giving  word  of  peace  and  blessing? 
/  It  has  been  wisely  asked  bv  an  English  writer  of  the  last 

century : 

"Would  the  potentates  of  the  earth  think  themselves 
treated  with  becoming  reverence,  should  their  subjects 
and  servants  immediately  approach  them  with  a  multitude 
of  words  and  continue  these  the  whole  time  they  stand  in 
the  royal  presence,  instead  of  waiting  silently  to  hear  their 
pleasure  and  to  receive  their  commands?  How  much  less 
He,  who  is  the  searcher  of  hearts,  who  knows  all  our 
thoughts  and  our  needs,  and  to  whom  we  must  be  indebted 
for  the  true  understanding  of  every  individual  want,  before 
we  can  have  words  to  ask  aright."  * 

>  ■>  OUR   OWN   EXPERIENCE. 

Such  is  our  own  reasonable  experience  to  day.  We  come 
up  to  our  places  of  worship  in  widely  different  conditions 

*  Archbishop  Trench  thus  profoundly  comments  upon  our  Saviour's 
memorable  words  to  the  woman  of  Samaria,  "  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they 
that  worship  Him  nmst  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth ." 

"  Where  the  Spirit  is,  there  is  the  truth:  He,  as  the  Spirit  of  truth, 
/    excluding  not  merely  all  the  grosser  falsehoods  of  the  heathen  religions, 
/     but  all  the  subtle   self-delusions  in  which  worshippers  who  are  not 
'  true,''  may  be  so  easily  entangled :  as  the  service  of  the  lips,  offered 
instead  of  the  service  of  the  heart,— with  all  substitutions  of  the  out- 
ward for  the  inward.'^    *    *    *    " 

"  Nor  does  the  worshipping  '  in  truth''  exclude  only  what  is  false. 
It  excludes  also  what  as  worship  is  partial,  rudimentary,  imperfect. 
Those  whom  God  enables  so  to  worship  Him  must  have  passed  through 
the  lower  and  more  imperfect  stages  of  a  religious  training,— 7* a-we  left 
hehind  them  types  and  shadows,— elements  of  this  world;  and  have 
been  by  the  Spirit  introduced  into  the  world  of  spiritual  realities." — 
{Studies  in  the  Gospels,  pages  120-125.) 


WORSHIP    OF   THE   LORD   OUR  GOD.  27 

of  mind,  body  and  estate ;  with  varied  needs  and  longings, 
all  unknown  it  may  be  to  one  another,  but  all  known  to 
our  omniscient  God  and  Father, 

Perhaps  some  are  bowed  down  with  the  burden  of  unfor- 
given  sin.  Even  if  they  may  have  known  the  one  great 
cleansing,  yet  a  remembrance  of  some  j)articular  act  of  dis- 
obedience troubles  their  souls.  There  are  those,  it  may 
be,  almost  heart-broken  and  crushed  by  recent  sorrow  or 
loss,  w^hich  life  seems  powerless  to  assuage  or  restore. 
Others,  under  the  pressure  of  great  extremity  or  danger,  are 
earnestly  seeking  for  Divine  guidance  and  deliverance. 
Some  again,  may  be  suffering  from  physical  weakness  or 
ailments  and  have  brought  their  sickness  and  their  longings 
to  the  great  Physician  for  help. 

Then  there  are  souls  filled  with  Divine  peace  and  with 
glowing  thankfulness  for  answered  prayers  or  for  unmerited 
blessings  received.  These,  constrained  by  the  mercies  of 
God,  have  come  up  to  present  their  bodies  as  living  sacrifices 
unto  Him,— feeling  it  to  be  not  only  their  reasonable  service 
but  their  highest  privilege  and  joy. 

Others,  alas,  are  wholly  careless  and  indifferent  and  have 
gone  there  merely  as  a  matter  of  habit  and  of  form, — ex- 
pecting "  to  go  out  as  at  other  times." 

Now  "  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ? "  Who  can 
minister  availingly  to  all  these  varied  conditions  ?  Who 
can  so  wisely  provide  that  all  may  be  fed  and  all  may  be 
satisfied  ?  Who  can  at  once  "  raise  the  fallen,  cheer  the 
faint,  heal  the  sick  and  lead  the  blind? " 

It  is  manifest  that  no  mortal  provision  will  avail ; — that 


28  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

no  human  eloquence  or  preparation,  however  elaborate  or 
attractive,  can  possibly  answer  to  the  longings  of  an  immor- 
tal soul: 

"  For  only  God  can  satisfy  whom  only  God  created/' 

And  He  hath  not  only  created  the  human  soul  but  hath 
awakened  within  it,  by  His  Holy  Spirit,  these  very  longings 
and  desires  for  Heavenly  rest  and  refreshment,  or  for  Di- 
vine direction  and  help.  When,  therefore,  under  a  sense  of 
His  fatherly  goodness  and  of  His  infinite  wisdom  and  power, 
the  heart  is  made  willing  to  accept  the  loving  invitation— 
"  0  come  let  us  worship  and  bow  down,  let  us  kneel  before 
the  Lord  our  Maker,"  a  qualification  is  felt  for  earnest  sup- 
plication, in  humility  of  soul  before  Him:  and  the  promise 
is  made  good,  "  They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord,  (are  silent 
before  the  Lord,  margin),  shall  renew  their  strength,  they 
shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles,  they  shall  run  and  not 
be  weary,  they  shall  walk  and  not  im.-n.ty— {Isaiah  xl.  31.) 

RELIGIOUS    SERVICE. 

Then  comes  the  further  qualification  for  service.  The 
same  blessed  Holy  Spirit  of  our  God  who,  as  our  "  Para- 
clete "  here,  "  maketh  intercession  for  us  "  with  unutterable 
groanings,  when  "  we  know  not  what  we  should  pray  for  as 
we  ought,"— (i?o?7^.  viii.  26)— who  "  searcheth  all  things,  yea 
the  deep  things  of  God,"  (1  Cor.  ii.  10),  now  awakens  the 
voice  of  praise  or  of  testimony;  thus  ministering  to  the 
varied  conditions  of  the  congregation,  "  severally  as  He  will," 
and  as  He  alone  can. 

So  that  all  are  fed  with  the  Bread  of  Life  and  all  are  sat- 


WORSHIP   OF   THE   LORD   OUR   GOD,  29 

isfied ;  and  they  leave  the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house,  feel-  \ 
ing  that  it  has  been  good  for  them  to  have  been  there  and    ^ 
realizing  that  it  is  indeed  "  no  vain  thing  to  wait  upon  the 
Lord." 

Nor  does  this  willingness  of  Ilis  thus  to  qualify  His  min- 
istering servants,  lead  rightly  to  any  such  inertness  or  in- 
difference on  their  part,  as  would  unfit  them  for  His  work. 
By  earnest  and  continued  prayer  and  meditation,  by  dili- 
gent study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  by  the  entire  consecra- 
tion unto  Him  of  all  the  powers,  mental  and  spiritual,  that 
the  Lord  has  bestowed  upon  them,  by  bringing  all  their 
tithes  into  His  store-house,  they  enable  Him  to  draw  forth 
from  a  full  treasury  "  things  new  and  old,"— for  the  refresh- 
ment of  His  people  and  for  the  promulgation  of  His  truth.  >J^  ,4h&^^' ''^ 

"Be   diligent  in   these  things,"— ('' reading,  exhortation, '^^^^^^•^^y^r>- 
teaching  "),— said   the  great  Apostle  to  his  son   Timothy,  ^  7yc.<r>^^ 


"give  thyself  wholly  to  them,  that  thy  progress  may  be  e/«^^^^^'~' 
manifest  unto  all  "—(1  Tim.  iv.  13,  15,  R.V.)  ^2-^^^ 


Again, — "Give  diligence  to  present   thyself    approved        . 
to  God,  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to   be  ashamed,         / 


unto 


handling  aright  {cutting  straight,  literally,  opdorotioovra^)  the^^^  /34^^/f/-Z 
word  of  truth."— (2  Tim.  ii.  15,  R.Y.) 

With  such  prepared  and  consecrated  workmen  the  Lord 

can  do  great  things,  not  only  in  the  building  up  of  His 

church  but  in  the  advancement  of  His  blessed  kingdom  and 
In  the  winning  of  the  world  to  His  righteous  government. 
Not  through  any  outward  ordinance  or  ritual,  not  through 
any  humanly  appointed  priesthood  coming  between  us  and 
our  great  High  Priest  and  Mediator, — but  by  proclaiming 


30  HISTOllICAL    ESSAYS. 

in  His  Name,  through  the  power  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  the  glad 
tidings  of  a  full,  free,  i^resent  and  everlasting  salvation, 
even  "  to  the  uttermost,"  for  all  who  will  come  unto  God  by 
Him. 

SILENT   DEVOTIONS   OF  THE   EARLY   CHRISTIANS. 

The  early  Church,  for  nearly  a  hundred  years  after  its 
establishment,  recognized  the  importance  of  an  interval  of 
silent  worship  in  the  i^ublic  assemblies  of  Christian  be- 
lievers.* 

They  accepted  fully  the  truth  that  living,  earnest  prayer 
thus  availingly  ascended  to  their  Heavenly  Father  and  to 
His  beloved  Son  —  through  the  Eternal  Holy  Spirit,  who 
both  led  their  silent  devotions  and  inspired  their  vocal 
services.f 

*  Of  this  there  are  many  testimonials;  the  two  following  summaries 
may  suffice : 

"After  this  the  whole  assembly  rose  iip,  and  each  one  silently  offered 
prayer  for  himself,  for  the  welfare  of  the  church,  for  the  conversion  of 
all  mankind,  for  the  government,  and  for  the  peace  of  the  State." — 
{Quericke's  Church  History,  page  132.) 

Pressens6  writes : 

"  We  have  seen  that  the  whole  assembly  joined  first  in  prayer.  Its 
supplications  rise  to  God  in  deep  silence.  Then  this  solemn  silence  is 
broken  by  the  voice  of  the  Minister,  who  directs  the  secret  pra^yer  by 
calling  to  mind  those  great  objects  of  supplication  which  should  never 
be  forgotten." — {Early  Years  of  Christianity,  pp.  296,  331.) 

f  The  object  of  their  worship  is  thus  defined: 

"  'We  offer  our  adoration  only,'  they  said,  'to  the  God  who  reigns 
over  the  universe  and  to  His  only  Son.'  We  see  then  that  God  and 
Christ  were  the  sole  objects  of  adoration  of  the  Christians. — {Pressens^, 
page  304.) 

Origen  testifies  in  regard  to  their  Avorship : 

"  For  the  great  God  only  is  to  be  adored,  and  prayers  to  be  delivered 
up  to  none  but  His  only  begotten  Son,  the  first-born  of  every  creature ; 
— that  as  our  High  priest.  He  may  carry  Them  to  His  Father  and  to  our 
Father,  to  His  God  and  to  our  God." — (Contra  Celsus,  viii.  S.  56.) 


WOKSIIIP    OF   THE    LORD    OUU   GOD.  81 

They  believed  that  the  condition  of  every  soul  was  thus 
specially  presented  before  the  Lord,  in  the  name  of  our 
great  High  Priest,  the  "  Head  of  the  Church  and  Head  over 
all  things  to  it;" — who  ministered  in  return,  through  the 
same  blessed  Spirit,  to  the  needs  and  to  the  aspirations  of 
each  worshipper  before  Him, — preparing  all  hearts  for  the 
reception  of  such  message,  or  the  performance  of  such  service, 
as  might  be  appropriate  to  the  occasion. 

We  read  of  the  Christian  assemblies  in  the  days  of  the 
Apostles, — "  To  each  one  is  given  the  manifestation  of  the 
Spirit  to  profit  with  all:  -/>()?  -d  ffu/j.<f^fw>-—for  the  profit  of  all.  /^ 
To  one  is  given,  through  the  Spirit,  the  word  of  wisdom,  to 
another  the  word  of  knowledge  according  to  the  same  Spirit, 
to  another  the  word  of  prophecy;  .  .  .  but  all  these  work- 
eth  the  one  and  the  same  Spirit,  dividing  to  each  one  sever- 
ally, even  as  He  will."— (1  Cor.  xii.  7-11,  R.Y.) 

Again  it  is  recorded  of  these  occasions,  — "  When  ye  come 
together,  each  one  hath  a  Psalm,  hath  a  teaching,  hath  a 
revelation.  .  .  .  For  ye  can  all  prophesy,  one  by  one,  that  all 
may  learn  and  all  may  be  comforted." — (1  Cor.  xiv.  26-31, 
R.Y.) 

So  it  is  in  our  day  with  a  rightly  gathered  assembly,— 
where  the  liberty  of  the  Spirit  and  true  order  of  the  gosjDel 
are  preserved  in  the  jDublic  worship  of  the  Lord's  people. 

One  may  feel  called  upon  to  offer  a  personal  testimony, — 
another  a  word  of  jirayer  or  a  song  of  praise: — others  to  re- 
vive with  freshness  some  gracious  promise  or  some  com- 
forting word  of  the  Lord,  which  He  has  made  good  to  them. 

Nor  is  there  any  need  of  confusion  in  such  free  spiritual 


32  HISTOEICAL   ESSAYS. 

worship, — for  "  God  is  not  a  God  of  confusion  bnt  of  peace, 
as  in  all  the  churches  of  the  saints." — (v.  33,  R.Y.) 

Added  to  this  will  be  the  feeding  of  the  gathered  flock, — 
by  a  ministration  of  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour, 
through  a  regular  and  chosen  instrumentality. 

For  the  fullest  acknowledgment  of  a  certain  Priesthood 
of  all  true  believers,  under  the  Christian  dispensation,  does 
not  in  any  way  remove  the  necessity  nor  invalidate  the  truth 
of  the  clear  recognition  of  an  expressly  authorized  Ministry 
in  the  Church  of  Christ.  This  has  been  appointed  from  its 
earliest  establishment,  as  well  for  the  awakening  of  sinners 
by  the  public  preaching  of  the  GosjDel  as  for  its  own  com- 
fort and  edification  through  a  revival  of  the  words  of  life 
and  salvation,  in  the  worshipping  congregations  of  the 
people.* 

Nor  will  such  heavenly  ministrations,  under  the  Lord's 
fresh  anointing  and  guidance,  be  found  to  interfere  with  a 
right  exercise  of  the  individual  gifts  and  callings  above  al- 
luded to,  or  with  the  best  interests  of  the  gathered  church. 
There  will  be  abundant  opportunity  for  all ;  and  each  ser- 
vice, thus  ordered  and  j^erformed,  will  not  only  contribute 
to  the  personal  encouragement  and  instruction  of  its  mem- 
bers but  through  their  prayerful  co-operation,  the  complete- 


*  "  Ever  since  the  first  sending  and  calling  of  the  twelve  Apostles 
there  has  been,  by  the  appointment  of  God's  providence,  a  ministry  of 
the  New  Testament, — a  stewardship  of  the  mysteries  of  God, — a  minis- 
try of  the  word.  For  how  could  the  visible  body  of  the  Christian 
Church  ever  have  been  maintained  if  there  had  not  been,  in  every  con- 
gregation, persons  regularly  called  to  preach  the  word, — to  feed  the 
flock  of  Christ." — {Ouericke^ s  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church,  p.  22.) 

Neander,  Pressens6,  Mosheim  and  other  Church  Historians  abun- 
dantly confirm  this  statement. 


ox   THE   MINISTRY    OF   THE   GOSPEL,  ETC.  33 

ness  and  power  of  the  Gospel  messages  so  delivered,  will  be 
largely  increased. 

The  heartfelt  object  of  the  sincere  M'orshipper  is  to  gio- 
rify  God  and  to  derive  from  communion  with  Him  that 
Divine  life  and  strength  which  the  human  soul  longs  for 
and  which  He  alone  can  supply. 

"  Tliis  is  the  record,  that  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life 
and  this  life  is  in  His  Son.  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life, 
^and  he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not  life." — (1 
John,  V.  11,  12.) 

Whether,  therefore,  the  revivals  of  this  life  be  immedi- 
ately or  instrumentally  extended, — whether  this  Holy  Com- 
munion be  enjoyed  in  the  silent  waiting  or  in  the  vocal 
service  of  prayer  or  praise  or  testimony, — all  are  sweetly  in 
harmony  with  the  Lord's  purposes  and  with  the  soul's  needs. 


ON  THE   MINISTRY   OF  THE   GOSPEL  OF  OUR 
LORD  AND   SAVIOyR. 

SPECIAL   SERVICES. 

While  the  regular  Meetings  of  the  Lord's  people  for 
Divine  worship  are  thus  described  as  usually  seasons  of 
quiet  and  orderly  service,  or  of  peaceful  communion  with 
Him,  yet  it  is  manifest  that  in  the  evangelistic  work  of  the 
Church, — its  open  warfare,  so  to  speak,  with  the  world, — 
when  it  would  be  brought  into  direct  contact  with  the 
powers  of  darkness  which  naturally  have  always  opposed 
the  Gospel  and  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and   Saviour,— 


X 


> 


34  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

the  scene  might  at  times  be  a  widely  different  one  from  that 
which  we  have  been  describing. 

To  conduct  such  hand-to-hand  services  availingly,  there 
have  been  chosen  instruments  raised  up,  in  all  ages  of  the 
Church  "  by  its  Living  Head,  who  were  endued  with  especial 
wisdom  and  Divine  power,  that  would  enable  them  to  "  turn 
the  battle  to  the  gate  "  and  to  triumx)h  over  all  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  enemy; — and  wonderful  is  the  record  of  the 
Lord's  blessing  upon  their  labors. 

Among  them  may  be  numbered,  of  latter  times,  such  men 
as  Knox,  Savonarola,  Bunyan,  Baxter,  Wesley,  Whitefield, 
Moody. 

EVANGELISTIC    MINISTRY    OF   THE   EARLY'    FRIENDS. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  there  were 
also  among  them  such  anointed  messengers  'who  proclaimed 
to  the  x'>^ople,  in  the  mighty  power  of  God,  the  warnings 
and  the  invitations  of  His  everlasting  Gospel. 

George  Fox,  Edward  Burrough,  Francis  Howgill,  John 
Camm  and  John  Audland  were  eminent  among  those  way- 
side Evangelists.  With  Bible  in  hand  to  prove  the  truth 
and  the  authority  of  the  Gospel  they  preached, — sometimes 

*  The  office  of  Evangelists  has  existed  in  the  Church  of  Christ  from 
its  earhest  history.  '  Eusebius  thus  speaks  of  their  services :  "  Many  of 
the  disciples  at  tiiat  time,  animated  with  a  more  ardent  love  of  the 
K^  Divine  word,  first  fulfilled  the  Saviour's  precept  by  distributing  their 
■A  substance  to  the  needy.  Afterwards  leaving  their  country,  they  per- 
formed the  office  of  Evangelists  to  those  who  had  not  yet  heard  the 
Gospel.  .  .  .  After  laying  the  foundation  of  the  faith  in  foreign 
parts,  as  the  particular  object  of  their  mission,  they  went  again  to 
other  regions  and  nations,  with  the  grace  and  co-operation  of  Grod." 
(Bccl.  History,  p.  123.) 


OiS^   THE   MINISTRY   OF  THE   GOSPEL,  ETC.  35 

in  the  crowded  streets  of  the  great  city  *  in  the  midst  of  a 
tumultuous  assembly,  or  it  might  be  gathered  in  the 
orchard  or  by  the  hillside  of  some  quiet  country  neighbor- 
hood, they  would  hold  their  audiences  of  thousands  spell- 
bound as  it  were  for  hours; — or  would  move  them  to  mighty 
emotion,  as  with  the  heart  of  one  man,  by  the  proclama- 
tion of  that  living  word  of  the  Lord  which  is  likened  to  a 
fire  and  a  hammer,  when  preached  in  the  demonstration  of 
the  Spirit  and  with  power. 

It  is  recorded  that  at  some  of  these  meetings  "  the  people 
fell  to  the  ground  like  grass  beneath  a  mower's  scythe." 
At  others,  that  *'  they  were  so  seized  in  their  souls  with  the 
mighty  power  of  God  that  they  cried  out  while  the  sense  of 
their  sin  was  opened  to  them ; "  and  that  "  meetings  were 
held  every  day,  so  that  every  day  was  one  long  meeting." 

Nor  did  the  labors  of  the  Preacher,  at  such  times  of  special 
revival,  cease  with  the  public  ministrations.  We  are  told 
that  those  under  conviction  often  sought  the  house  where 
he  was  staying,  to  "  speak  with  him  j)rivately  before  the 
people  were  up;"  and  that  " they  were  at  work  from  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning  till  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  and  some- 
times till  one  o'clock  a.m." 


*  "  Bold  in  his  Master''s  cause,"  says  Thomas  Elwood  in  speaking  of 
Edward  Burrough,  "  this  north-country  youth,  not  yet  come  to  man's 
estate,  would  fearlessly  rise  among  them,  and  drawing  forth  a  Bible, 
begin  in  a  loud  and  powerful  voice  to  pour  forth  such  full  and  eloquent 
discourse  as  arrested  the  attention  of  disputants;  and  withal  changing, 
as  he  found  order  and  attention  secured,  to  such  heart  melting  and 
tender  appeals  as  made  him  a  son  of  consolation,  as  well  as  a  son  of 
thunder." 


,^ 


36 


HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 


THE   GOSPEL   THEY   PEEACHED. 


>o/    ^'  ^ 


> 


It  was  no  mystical  or  uncertain  message  that  the  Early- 
Friends  delivered  to  the  people  on  these  occasions, — but  the 
same  glorious  Gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  which  the 
Apostle  Paul  preached, — and  which  he  declared  to  be  the 
very  "  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  be- 
lie veth"  it;  and  the  effects  upon  its  willing  hearers  were 
often  as  immediate  as  they  were  permanent. 

In  a  memorable  letter  of  George  Fox  on  the  religious 
services  of  John  Camm  and  John  Audland,  published  in 
1689,  during  his  own  life-time, — he  states  that  at  a  great 
meeting  held  in  Furbank*  Chapel,  Westmoreland,  in  1652, 
under  his  ministry, — "Many  hundreds  were  turned  from 
darkness  to  light  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God ; — and 
received  the  Grace  and  Truth  that  comes  by  Jesus,  and  by 
it  received  Christ  in  their  hearts ;  " — repeating  in  the  course 
of  his  letter  this  wonderful  testimony,  lest  it  should  be 
doubted  by  any, — "As  I  said  before,  many  hundreds  received 
God's  truth  that  day,  and  immediately  after  that,  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  was  revealed  in  them.  John  Audland, 
John  Camm  and  several  others  went  forth  and  preached 
Christ  and  His  everlasting  Gospel." 

Similar  accounts  are  given  of  various  public  or  general 
meetings,  held  by  these  and  other  devoted  servants  of  the 
Lord  in  that  day ;  all  which  resulted  in  a  great  revival  of 
religion  over  the  land,  with  an  ingathering  to  the  Society  of 
Friends  of  about  one  hundred  thousand  souls  during  the 


Sic,  in  original  letter. 


ON  THE   MINISTRY   OF  THE   GOSPEL,  ETC.  37 

life-time  of  George  Fox ; — and  in  its  firm  establishment  as  a 
living  and  intluential  Branch  of  the  Church  of  Christ* 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  very  interest  and  excite- 
ment of  these  memorable  occasions,  would  render  it  neces- 
sary  that  other  meetings  should  be  provided  for  the  regular 
worship  of  the  gathered  Church,  as  well  as  for  the  rest  and 
refreshment  of  the  Ministers  themselves. 

We  find  accordingly  that  George  Fox,  while  his  Gospel 
trumpet  was  sending  forth  its  clarion  appeals  to  the  army 
of  workers  in  the  field,  to  "  go  on  in  the  mighty  power  of  God 
with  their  threshing,  and  their  wrestling  against  principali- 
ties and  powers  and  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world," 
— had  a  softer  note  to  call  together  and  to  counsel  the  sheep 
and  lambs  of  the  flock  of  Christ,  over  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
had  made  him  an  overseer. 

He  was  very  jealous  that  these  should  not  be  scattered, 
while  the  shepherds  were  going  out  in  the  wilderness  after 
lost  and  wandering  sheep.f  Neither  would  he  suffer  them 
to  be  fed  with  food  not  convenient  for  them ;  being  especially 
careful  of  the  character  of  the  ministry  in  their  own  "  Re- 

*  It  was  by  no  ordinary  self-devotion  and  sacrifice  that  this  work 
•was  performed.  "Ah,  those  great  meetings  in  the  orcliard  at  Bristol, 
I  may  not  forget  them,"  said  John  Audland,  on  his  dying  bed,  when 
struggling  for  breath;  "  I  would  so  gladly  have  spread  my  net  over  all 
and  have  gathered  all  that  I  forgot  myself,  never  considering  the  in- 
ability of  my  body — but  it  is  all  well." 

fin  his  Epistles  (vol.  ii.,  p,  13),  the  following  caution  occurs  under 
date  A.D.  1652: 

"And  when  there  are  any  meetings  in  unbroken  places,  ye  that  go 
to  minister  take  not  the  whole  Meeting  of  Friends  with  you  thither, 
to  suffer  with  and  by  the  world's  spirit.  .  .  .  But  let  Friends  keep 
together  and  wait  in  their  own  Meeting  places.  .  .  .  And  let  three  or 
four  or  six  that  are  grown  up  and  strong,  go  to  such  unbroken  places, 
— and  there  will  be  true  service  for  the  Lord." 


38  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

tired  Meetings,"  as  they  were  called.  He  clearly  recognized 
the  fact  that  those  "  Sons  of  Thunder,"  the  Evangelists,  fresh 
from  their  "  threshing  service,"  might  need  to  cool  down  their 
fiery  zeal,  and  to  modify  somewhat  their  style  of  speaking 
so  well  adapted  to  the  rude  and  mixed  multitude,  before 
entering  suddenly  upon  those  graver  ministrations  better 
suited  to  the  experienced  Christian  worshippers  in  the  reg- 
ular gatherings  of  the  Friends.* 

These  retired  meetings  of  the  elderly  and  established 
members  of  the  Church,  thus  waiting  upon  the  Lord  for 
strength  and  wisdom, — the  solemn  silence  broken  often  by 
fervent  vocal  supplication,  or  by  words  of  wise  counsel  and 
encouragement  from  some  veteran  soldier  whose  warfare 
perhaps  was  well-nigh  accomi)lished,  and  whose  weighty 
utterances  were  cherished  with  esj^ecial  veneration  and  re- 
gard,— have  left  their  more  lasting  impress  upon  the  his- 
toric features  of  our  Church  worship,  while  the  grim  scars 
of  its  early  battle-fields  have  well-nigh  faded  out  of  sight. 

It  has  seemed  needful  thus  to  dwell  for  a  moment  upon 
these  actual  experiences  of  our  Early  Friends,  which  are 
recorded  so  carefully  in  the  annals  of  those  days  of  their 
greatest  success  and  power,  not  only  in  awakening  and  gath- 
ering sinners  but  also  in  buildiug  wp  and  establishing  the 

*  We  find  in  the  first  edition  of  his  Journal,  published  in  1694,  under 
date  1658,  a  quaint  but  remarkable  letter  to  ministering  Friends : 

"  So,  Friends,  this  is  the  word  of  the  Lord  to  you  all.  Be  watchful 
and  careful  in  the  meetings  you  come  into,  where  Friends  are  sitting 
together  in  silence.  .  .  .  For  one  may  come  there  in  the  heat  of  his 
Spirit  from  ministering  to  the  world's  people :  and  his  condition  in  that 
respect  not  being  agreeable  to  theirs,  he  may  rather  do  them  hurt,  if 
he  dwell  not  in  that  which  commands  his  own  Spirit  and  gives  him  to 
know  it."— (P.  284.) 


X 


pN   THE   MINISTRY    OF   THE   GOSPEL,  ETC.  39 

Clmrch.  i^'or  the  important  questions  wliicli  tlie}^  fearlessly  y. 
met  in  their  generation  and  practically  solved  for  them- 
selves, are  in  reality  once  more  confronting  ns.  "  Blessed  be 
the  Lord  God  of  Israel,"  He  hath  continued  from  time  to 
time  to  "  visit  and  redeem  His  people;  "  and  with  the  new 
life  and  power  thus  awakened  in  His  Church,  it  finds  itself 
ever  standing  face  to  face  with  new  responsibilities  and 
duties  from  the  consideration  of  which  it  cannot  rightfully 

shrink. 

It  will  not  be,  on  the  one  hand,  by  any  servile  imitation  ^ 
of  the  practices  of  our  forefathers,  which  we  have  been  re- 
viewing, that  the  true  solution  of  these  questions  may  be 
found.  Far  less,  on  the  other,  will  the  happy  discharge  of 
these  new  duties  and  responsibilities  be  attained  by  an  un- 
wise forfeiture  of  the  priceless  inheritance  in  the  spiritual 
gospel  of  Christ,  which  has  been  so  largely  preserved  to  us 
through  their  faithfulness  and  their  sufferings. 

''  Looking  away,"  therefore,  not  only  from  all  discourage- 
ments and  failures  but  even  from  the  "  great  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses," unto  the  Lord  Jesus  of  whom  they  testiiied,  the 
great  Head  of  His  church  and  Head  over  all  things  to  it, 
looking  to  Him  not  only  for  our  general  guidance  but  also, 
individually,  for  our  special  direction  as  His  ministering 
servants,  we  shall  find  that  He  will  assuredly  lead  us  into  V 
such  safe  and  wise  methods  as  shall  most  effectually  ac- 
complish our  mission  work  in  the  world,  without  any  sur- 
render or  compromise  of  those  blessed  truths  of  His  Gospel 
which  we  believe  that  He  has  intrusted  to  us,  as  a  people, 
to  maintain  inviolate. 


< 


40  HISTOKICAL   ESSAYS. 

GEISTERAL    EFFECT    OF   THE   GOSPEL    PEOCLAMATIOlSr. 

The  stirring  and  tumultuous  scenes  which  have  been  de- 
scribed, were  by  no  means  peculiar  to  the  Ministry  of  the 
Early  Friends. 
1/C  The  word  {x-qpOffGw)^  to  preach,  signifies  in  the  original  to 
cry  out  as  a  herald, — to  proclaim  imjjortant  tidings  such 
as  of  peace  or  of  war,  from  the  Sovereign  Power.  And  this 
is  just  what  the  true  Ambassador  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven 
and  Earth  is  commissioned  to  do.  He  finds  the  whole 
"  world  lying  in  the  arms  of  the  wicked  one,"  the  crafty 
usurper  who  is  styled  the  "  god  of  this  world ;  " — and  the 
message  which  the  Preacher  cries  out,  is  one  of  warning  to 
the  rebellious,  and  of  peace  and  pardon  to  all  who  will  re- 
turn to  the  allegiance  of  their  rightful  Lord. 

The  Gospel,  as  the  Greek  word  {sbayYiXur^)  signifies,  is  a 
message  of  "glad  tidings,"  to  all  who  will  accept  its  merci- 
ful provisions.  The  Messenger  of  the  King  is  authorized  to 
declare  to  the  people,  in  His  name,  that  "  God  was  in  Christ 
reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself,  not  imputing  their  tres- 
passes unto  them :  "  that  "  He  hath  made  Him  to  be  sin  for 
us  who  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteous- 
ness of  God  in  Him :  " — and  that,  therefore,  because  this  one 
great  atonement  had  been  made  he,  the  servant,  now  stands 
in  the  place  of  his  sovereign  Lord,  to  "  pray "  the  people 
"  to  be  reconciled  to  God." 

On  the  other  hand  the  '"  terrors  of  the  Lord  "  to  those  who 
reject  His  mercy  are  not  to  be  forgotten ;  nor  the  solemn 
warning  that  "  all  must  stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of 


ON   THE   MINISTRY   OF  THE   GOSPEL,  ETC.  41 

Christ,"  to  receive  their  final  reward  for  the  "  deeds  done 
in  the  body,  whether  they  be  good  or  evil."— (2  Cor.  v. 

10-21.) 

It  is  a  wonderful  message,— this  "  word  of  the  Lord,  quick 
and  powerful  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword  "  {Heh. 
iv.  12) ;  a  message  of  "  life  unto  life  "  to  those  who  accept  it, 
and  of  "  death  unto  death  "  to  those  who  reject  it  in  their 
day  of  visitation.  It  is  still  more  wonderful  that  an  immor- 
tal soul  should  be  willing  to  turn  away  from  it;  nor  would 
anv  wish  to  do  so,  w^ere  it  not  for  the  unw^earied  tempta- 
tions  and  the  mighty  power  for  evil,  of  the  great  enemy, 
whose  kingdom  it  is  the  very  object  of  this  proclamation  to 
overthrow^  and  to  destroy.  That  bitter  Adversary's  rage  is 
always  the  fiercest,  where  the  power  of  the  Lord  is  most 
mightily  displayed  and  His  victory  most  clearly  manifested. 

Nearly  a  century  before  these  great  meetings  of  the  Early  % 
Friends,  their  British  forefathers  had  been  strangely  moved 
in  like  manner,  with  the  same  fervor  of  acceptance  or  oppo- 
sition, by  the  ministry  of  the  English  and  Scottish  Reform- 
ers and  Martyrs ;  men  who  "  loved  not  their  lives  unto  the 
death,"  that  they  might  proclaim  the  truth  of  Christ's  Gos- 
pel to  the  people,  in  their  native  land  and  in  their  native 
tongue. 

Again,  about  a  hundred  years  after  the  days  of  Fox  and  v^ 
Audland  and  Burrough,  these  very  localities  around  Bristol 
and  London  witnessed,  under  the  powerful  field-preaching 
of  the  AYesleys  and  Whitefield,  stirring  scenes,  similar  to 
those  we  have  described  in  the  orchards  or  on  the  hill -sides 
of  the  country  or  at  the  "  Bull  and  Mouth  "  Meeting  place 


42  IIISTOKICAL   ESSAYS. 

in  London.*  We  read  tliat  the  people  cried  out,  and  fell  to 
the  ground, — and  were  not  only  convicted  but  converted  by 
thousands,  through  the  proclamation  of  the  same  everlast- 
ing Gospel ;  unveiling  as  it  always  does,  somewhat  of  "  the 
powers  of  the  world  to  come." 

Three  or  four  generations  had  then  passed  away  since  the 
meeting  at  "  Furbank  Chapel,"— and  six  or  eight  since  the 
stirring  events  of  the  English  Reformation.  Those  preach- 
ers and  hearers  had  all  long  since  gone  to  their  final  account, 
— to  try  the  realities  of  the  eternal  world,  and  to  test  the 
truths  which  had  been  proclaimed  in  their  generation. 
The  very  conditions  of  society,  civil  and  religious,  had  all 
changed.  Yet  the  truth  itself  had  not  changed,— nor  had 
the  needs  and  the  longings  of  the  immortal  soul  changed- 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  who  could  answer  to  them  all,  is  "  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever." 

And  as  by  the  same  eternal  Spirit,  the  Early  Methodists 
lifted  Him  up  before  the  people,  He  drew  the  men  of  the 
Eighteenth  century  to  Himself,  with  all  the  wondrous  love 
and  power  which  had  attracted  their  fathers  in  the  Seven- 
teenth and  their  forefathers  still  a  hundred  years  before. 

Many  doubtless,  in  each  day  of  the  Lord's  visitation^ 
rejected  these  Heaven-sent  messages  and  it  may  be  despised 
the  messengers,  as  they  did  of  old  with  the  King's  invita- 
tion. The  "word  of  the  Cross "—(/'.or"^\  argument  of  the 
Cross,  "  Speaker's  Com."),  is  to  them  who  are  perishing  fool- 
ishness, but  to  such  as  "  are  being  saved,"  it  is  declared  to 

*  See  Isaac  Taylor's  "  Wesley  and  Methodism."— The  Lives  of  White- 
field  and  Wesley  by  Tiernan  and  others ;  Steven's  "  History  of  Early 
Methodism,"  etc. 


ox   THE   MINISTRY   OF   THE   GOSPEL,  ETC. 


43 


be  not  only  the  "power  of  God"  but  also  the  "wisdom  of 
Grod,"  (1  Cor.  i.  24),— and  will  reach  the  human  heart  if 
anything  can  touch  it. 

The  story  of  the  love  of  the  Father,  which  led  Him  A\diile 
we  were  yet  in  rebellion  against  Him  to  "  spare  not  IHs  own 
Son,  but  freely  to  give  Him  up  for  us  all,"  that  "  whosoever 
believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting 
life,"— the  willing  obedience  of  this  dear  Son,  His  whole 
life  from  the  cradle  in  the  manger  to  the  cross  on  Calvary, 
His  humiliation  and  His  sufferings  even  unto  death  for  our 
sakes,  these  all  form  an  irresistible  claim  upon  our  hearts' 
gratitude  and  love,  which  it  would  seem  could  only  be 
tinally  rejected  by  a  soul  that  is  past  all  feeling  and  beyond 
all  hope. 

Then  too  the  Gospel  of  Christ  offers  so  many  alleviations 

of  our  earthly  sorrow^  and  infirmities  and  pressing  needs, 

that  if  heard  aright  it  cannot  fail  to  be  a  welcome  message 

to  all. 

> 

Are  any  laboring  and  heavy-laden,  or  hungry  and  thirsty 
or  sick  ?  Our  blessed  Saviour  seems  always  to  have  been 
standing,  as  His  servants  are  commanded  to  stand  in  His 
Name,  at  the  very  highways  and  byways  of  life  as  it  were, 
calling  to  all  who  are  weary  with  its  burdens  to  come  unto 
Him  and  He  will  give  them  rest.  Not  that  He  will  sell  it 
to  them, — not  that  He  will  enable  them  to  earn  it  by  any 
works  of  righteousness  that  they  can  do, — but  that  He  will 
give  it  to  them  freely. 

So  with  the  "  Bread  of  Life,"  and  most  especially  with  the 
"  Water  of  Life  " — "  the  water  of  the  word."     His  last  re- 


^ 


44  HISTOKICAL   ESSAYS. 

corded  declaration  contains  that  loving  and  world-wide  proc- 
lamation, "Whosoever  is  athirst," — "whosoever  will,  may 
take  it  {diopedv)  for  a  giliy^{Rev.  xxii.  17.) 

To  those  who  are  sick,  even  it  may  be  of  themselves, — or 
who  are  bowed  down  under  a  sense  of  their  infirmities, — the 
Great  Physician  turns  inquiringly  with  the  same  tender 
pity,  the  same  Almighty  power  as  of  old, — "  Wilt  thou  be 
made  whole?"  How  many  a  poor  soul  since  that  day  has 
heard  availingly  from  His  messengers  the  sweet  words 
X^  spoken  by  His  servant  to  ^neas, — ""Jesus  Christ  maketh 
tliee  wlioley  * 

As  we  thus  reverently  think  upon  these  wonderful  words 
of  life  and  on  all  the  other  glad  tidings  of  His  glorious 
Gospel, — upon  its  "  promise  of  this  life  and  of  the  life  which 
is  to  come," — on  all  its  earthly  consolations  and  when  these 
are  well-nigh  over  on  the  bright,  eternal,  Heavenly  hope 
which  it  unfolds  and  then  remember  the  infinite  price  at 
which  all  these  unmerited  blessings  were  purchased  for  us 
so  freely,— every  heart  must  respond  to  the  ajopeal  of  the 
devoted  Apostle,  "  How  can  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great 
salvation?" 


*  Matthew  Arnold  finely  says  of  the  poet  Goethe : 

"  Physician  of  the  Iron  Age,     *    *    * 
He  took  our  suffering  human  race, 

He  read  each  wound,  each  weakness,  clear, — 
And  struck  his  finger  on  the  place 
And  said, — Thou  ailest  here  and  herey 

— Memorial  Verses,  p.  49. 

But  that  was  all  that  he  could  do.  One  touch  of  the  loving  hand  of 
our  Great  Physician  and  all  life's  fever  leaves  us,— its  sickness  is  cured, 
— we  are  made  perfectly  whole ! — T.  K. 


ON   THE   MINISTRY   OF   THE   GOSPEL,  ETC.  46 

ITS   PRACTICAL   TEACHINGS.  /" 

The  Gospel  of  Christ  includes  not  only  the  proclamation 
of  a  free  pardon  and  remission  of  sins,  in  His  Name,  for  all 
who  will  repent  and  turn  with  full  purpose  of  heart  unto 
their  merciful  God  and  Father,  but  also  the  promise  of  a 
power  to  walk  with  Him  thereafter  in  newness  of  life. 

It  offers  a  complete  deliverance  not  only  from  the  con- 
demnation but  from  the  dominion  of  sin;  the  express 
promise  of  our  Saviour's  coming  having  been  declared  to  be, 
that  we  "  being  delivered  out  of  the  hand  of  our  enemies, 
should  serve  our  God  without  fear, — in  holiness  and  right- 
eousness before  Him,  all  our  days." — {LuTce^  i.  74,  75, 
RV.) 

It  is  only  through  the  "  obedience  of  faith,"  that  any  can 
bring  forth  fruit  to  His  glory;  and  to  do  this  acceptably 
involves,  for  the  Christian  believer,  a  practical  righteousness 
of  life. 

The  imperative  demands  of  the  moral  law  revealed  under 
the  old  dispensation,  so  far  from  having  ever  been  abrogated 
or  in  the  least  degree  relaxed,  are  repeated  and  intensified 
in  the  New  Covenant.  Our  Lord,  in  His  sermon  on  the 
mount,  unfolds  a  code  of  Divine  morality  whose  obligations 
reach  far  beyond  the  utmost  requirements  of  the  command- 
ment given  from  Mount  Sinai.  The  one  takes  note  only  of 
the  good  and  evil  of  our  outward  actions  or  our  si)oken 
words.  The  holy  precepts  of  the  other  are  deeper  and 
higher  in  their  application, — covering  the  very  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart:    while  their  influence  is  designed  not 


46  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

only  to  be  felt,'  but  to  be  manifested  in  all  the  transactions 
or  the  contingencies  of  our  daily  lives. 

In  His  final  charge  to  His  disciples  before  leaving  them, 
our  Saviour  therefore  included  these  practical  injunctions 
with  the  general  commission  which  He  then  gave  them  to 
"preach  the  Gospel  to  all  nations;"— "teaching  them,"  said 
He,  "to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  commanded  you. 
—{Matt  xxviii.  19,  20,  RV.) 

Another  essential  difference  between  the  Old  Covenant 
and  New  is  this, — that  what  was  impossible  for  man  to  do, 
in  his  unregenerate  condition  under  the  one,  becomes  easy 
and  congenial  to  his  redeemed  life  and  nature  in  the  other.* 
We  read  that  the  "  Law  made  nothing  perfect,  but  that  the 
bringing  in  of  a  better  hoj^e  did  {Heb.  vii.  19);  and  again 
that  though  the  law  was  "  just  and  holy  and  good,"  {Bom. 
vii.  12),  yet  that  "  by  the  deeds  of  the  Law  there  shall  no 
flesh  be  justified  in  His  sight; — that  "all  have  sinned,"  in 
some  way,  against  its  requirements  and  so  "come  short 
of  the  glory  of  God." — {Bom.  iii.  20-23.)  It  is  manifest 
that  if  any  one  should  seek  to  provide  a  secure  attach- 
ment to  the  throne  of  eternal  justice  and  of  infinite  grace 
by  an  unbroken  chain  of  good  works,  the  defect  or  the 
severance  of  a  single  link  would  prove  as  fatal  to  such  secu- 
rity as  if  the  entire  chain  were  broken ;  and  so  the  reasona- 
bleness of  the  Divine  declaration  is  made  clear,  that  "  who- 
soever shall  keep  the  whole  law  and  fail  in  one  point,  is 
guilty  of  all." — {See  James  \\.  10,  margin.) 

*  "  Oh  Thou  bleeding  Love, 
The  best  inoraHty  is  love  to  Thee." 

— Dr.  Young. 


ON   THE   MINISTRY   OF  .THE   GOSPEL,  ETC.  47 

To  the  soul  convicted  of  utter  failure  in  every  attempt  to 
observe  perfectly  "  all  the  words  of  the  Book  of  the  Law," 
and  despairing  therefore  of  salvation  through  the  claims  of 
any  legal  righteousness,  {ouaw^o'^ri),  the  glad  tidings  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  now  bring  comfort  and  joy. 

They  proclaim  that  the  Lord  Jesus  has  "  taken  away  the 
hand- writing  of  ordinances  {doyiiaai,,  decrees),  that  was  against  K 
us,  and  blotted  it  out,  nailing  it  to  His  cross  "  {Coloss.  ii.  14) ; 
and  that  now  "  peace  is  preached  to  those  who  are  afar  off 
and  to  those  who  are  nigh,"  through  His  precious  blood. 
—{Ejjh.  ii.  13, 17). 

Yet  a  solemn  warning  is  given  that  we  may  not  "con- 
tinue in  sin,"  because  of  this  abounding  grace  of  God  {Rom. 
vi.  1-11);— but  that  Christ  '^  died  for  all,  that  they  who  live 
should  not  henceforth  live  unto  themselves  but  unto  Him 
^\-ho  died  for  them  and  rose  again." 

The  transcendent  claims  of  this  crowning  act  of  love  are 
thus  carried  home  to  the  soul  by  the  blessed  Holy  Spirit  of 
our  God;— through  whose  power  also  a  mighty  change  is 
wrought  in  the  human  heart,  even  "a  new  creation;"  so  /^ 
that  "  old  things  are  passed  away,  behold  all  things  are  be- 
come new  and  all  things  of  God,  who  hath  reconciled  us 
unto  Himself  by  Jesus  Christ.— (2  Cor.  v.  15,  17,  18.) 

Then  it  is  found  that  the  sinful  pleasures  which  the  un- 
regenerate  soul  took  such  delight  in,  now  no  longer  seem 
congenial  or  attractive  to  its  renewed  nature;  whose  highest 
aspiration  and  chiefest  joy  seem  to  find  an  expression  in 
the  words  of  its  Redeemer,—"  Lo,  I  come  to  do  Thy  will,  O 
God."— (^e&.  X.  9.) 


48  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

Such  a  full  consecration  and  consequent  enduement  of 
power  acceptably  to  serve  the  Lord,  do  not  rightfully  lead 
us  to  trust  in  any  personal  experience  or  attainment  of  our 
own.  All  "boasting  is  excluded"  from  one  whose  life  is 
thus  "  hid  with  Christ  in  God; "  who  can  say  from  the  heart, 
— "  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and 
who  gave  Himself  for  me." — {Gal.  ii.  20.) 

This  wonderful  love  soon  becomes  the  paramount  motive 
power  of  the  Christian's  life.  Is  it  a  question  of  giving  our 
worldly  substance?  He  "  wdio  was  rich  and  yet  for  our  sakes 
became  poor,"  has  said  "  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive."  Is  it  a  question  of  forgiveness  of  injuries?  We  can 
do  this  gladly  in  remembrance  of  Him,—"  forgiving  one  an- 
other, even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake  hath  forgiven  us." 
{Eph.  iv.  32.)  Are  any  oppressed  with  peculiar  care  or 
temptation?  The  comforting  word  to  such  is,— "Laying 
aside  every  "  weight  and  the  sin  that  doth  so  easily  beset 
us,  let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us, 
looking  unto  Jesus,  the  Author  and  Perfecter  of  our  faith: 
who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him  endured  the  cross 
despising  shame  and  hath  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  throne  of  God."— (^e&.  xii.  1,  2,  R.Y.) 

So  it  is  with  all  the  practical  needs  as  well  as  the  Chris- 
tian graces  of  the  believer;  both  the  inspiration  to  seek 
and  the  power  to  obtain,  will  be  found  in  the  Gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  proclamation  of  that  Gospel  would 
therefore  be  but  partial  and  in  its  results  most  imperfect, 
-V^  if  it  omitted  a  proffer  of  the  fulness  of  its  blessing;  if  it 
should  be  restricted  to  the  announcement  of  the  pardoning 


ON   THE   MINISTliY   OF   THE   GOSPEL,  ETC.  49 

mercy  of  our  Heavenly  Father  without  speaking  also  of 
the  "  exceeding  greatness  of  His  j^ovver  to  us-ward  who  be- 
lieve, according  to  the  working  of  His  mighty  power  which 
He  wrought  in  Christ  when  He  raised  Him  from  the  dead 
and  set  Him  at  His  own  right  hand,  in  the  Heavenly  places. 
—{Epli.  i.  19,  20.)  * 

For  it  is  not  only  in  the  atoning  death  of  Christ  our  Re- 
deemer but  also  in  His  resurrection  Life,  that  this  bright 
hope  of  the  Gospel  rests;  and  to  know  in  measure  "the 
power  of  His  resurrection,"  is  the  privilege  of  every  conse- 
crated believer. 

We  are  earnestly  enjoined  that,  seeing  we  are  not  our  own.  ^ 
but  "  bought  with  a  price,"  we  should  "  glorify  God  in  our 
bodies  and  in  our  spirits,  which  are  God's  "  (1  Cor.  vi.  20) : 
and  reminded  that,  however  lowly  our  station  in  life,  we 
may  adorn  His  doctrine  in  all  things,  {Titus,  ii.  10):  and 
continually   "  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our 


*  The  Early  Frieiids  were  distinguished  for  their  clear  teaching  of 
this  complete  deliverance  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

George  Fox  was  especially  emphatic  in  his  declaration  of  it.  {See 
Bjmifef,;  1671.) 

"  You  are  redeemed  by  Christ.  It  cost  Him  His  blood  to  purchase 
man  out  of  this  state  he  is  in  in  the  fall,  and  to  bring  him  up  to  the 
state  man  was  in  before  he  fell." 

"  So  Christ  became  a  curse,  to  bring  man  out  of  the  curse,— and  bore 
the  wrath,  to  bring  man  to  the  peace  of  God ;  that  he  might  come  to 
the  bles.sed  state  Adam  was  in  before  he  fell,— and  not  only  thither  but 
to  a  state,  in  Christ,  that  shall  never  fall." 

"  Fox  was  extremely  careful  however,  especially  in  the  latter  years  | 
of  his  ministry  to  attribute  all  the  work  and  all  the  glory  of  this  full 
salvation  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  alone.    '/  am  nothing,  Christ  is  all,' 
he  replied  upon  one  occasion,  to  a  question  on  this  subject;  and  again, 
'Christ  my  Saviour  hath  taken  away  my  sin,  and  in  Him  is  no  sin:  " 

T.  K. 

4 


/r/ 


50  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ  (2  Peter,  iii.  18.)  Again 
it  is  written,  "  Every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him  purifi- 
eth  himself,  even  as  He  is  pure  (1  John,  iii.  3). 

It  is  evident  therefore  that  the  successful  Minister  of 
such  a  glorious  Gospel,  must  himself  have  experienced  some- 
thing of  its  blessed  fulness;  for  no  one  can  teach  convinc- 
ingly to  others,  what  he  has  never  experimentally  known. 
His  own  eyes  must  have  seen,  and  his  ears  heard,  and  his 
hands  have  handled,  as  it  were,  this  Word  of  Life  (1  John,  i. 
1-3),  before  he  can  effectually  commend  Him  to  the  people. 
Though  necessarily  a  man  "  subject  to  like  passions  "  with 
the  rest,  as  the  great  Prophet  Elijah  was  said  to  have  been, 
{James  v.  17),  and  as  Paul  and  Barnabas  declared  them- 
selves to  be,  {Acts,  xiv.  15),  yet  his  unclean  lips  must  have 
been  touched  like  Isaiah's  as  "with  a  live  coal  from  the 
Altar,"  so  that  his  iniquity  is  known  to  be  taken  away  and 
his  sin  to  be  purged,  {Isaiah,  vi.  5-7),  before  he  can  be  qual- 
ified availingly,  to  sound  forth  the  world-wide  and  merci- 
ful invitation  "  Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith 
the  Lord.  Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as 
white  as  snow,  though  they  be  red  like  crimson  they  shall 
be  as  wool "  (i.  18.) 

Yet,  as  already  shown,  it  is  not  only  upon  the  Preachers 
of  Christ's  GosjDel,  but  upon  its  hearers  also,  who  have  be- 
lieved its  report  and  accepted  its  gracious  offers  of  salvation, 
that  an  imperative  obligation  to  a  holy  life  thenceforward 
rests. 

From  the  earliest  ages  of  the  Christian  Church,  therefore, 
this  practical  righteousness  was  required  equally  of  all  its 


ON   THE   MINISTEY    OF   THE   GOSPEL,  ETC.  51 

members,  and  their  consistency  of  life  was  carefully 
Avatclied  over  by  its  regularly  appointed  Elders  and  Over- 
seers; doubtless  being  guarded  most  jealously  in  the  days 
of  its  primitive  purity  and  power.* 

THE  lord's   AlSrOINTED. 

The  Holy  Scriptures,  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Covenant 
Dispensation,  abundantly  testify  to  the  Lord's  tender  and 
watchful  care  for  the  welfare  of  His  chosen  messengers,  and 
to  the  loving  estimate  which  He  always  placed  upon  their 
high  and  holy  calling. 

To  certain  unfaithful  sons  of  Levi,  on  a  memorable  occa- 
sion. He  addressed  this  solemn  reproach:    • 

"  Seemeth  it  but  a  small  thing  unto  you,  that  the  God  of 
Israel  hath  separated  you  from  the  congregation  of  Israel, 
to  bring  you  near  to  Himself,  to  do  the  service  of  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  Lord,  and  to  stand  before  the  congregation  to 
minister  unto  them?  ''—{Numbers,  xvi.  9.) 

Seemeth  it  to  any,  in  our  day,  "  a  small  thing,"  a  light 
honor,— an  inadequate  recompense  for  the  necessary  ]3riva- 
tion  and  toil  of  the  life  of  a  faithful  Minister  of  the  Gospel 


*  On  this  point  Professor  W.  Sanday  perhaps  sufficiently  expresses 
the  universal  testimony  of  Christian  historians  and  scholars. 

"  The  early  generations  of  Christians  were  truly  an  (31ite.  They  set 
themselves  a  standard  of  morality  higher  than  that  of  the  world  around 
them  and  it  was  essential  to  their  very  existence  that  they  should  live 
up  to  this  standard.  A  vigilant  watch  was  kept  upon  the  members  of 
the  church  by  its  officers  and  discipline  was  strictly  enforced  up  to 
the  end  of  the  first  and  beginning  of  the  second  century.  The  ques- 
tion how  far  it  was  to  be  relaxed,  forms  one  of  the  great  battle-grounds 
of  the  third  century."— (-S^^e  Origin  of  the  Christian  Ministry,  London 
Expositor,  January,  1887,  p.  9, 10.) 


/ 


52  HISTOllICAL   ESSAYS. 

of  onr  Lord  and  Saviour,  that  He  sliould  thus  in  some  sense 
have  separated  such  a  one  from  the  congregation  to  be 
drawn  a  little  nearer  unto  Himself,  to  stand  before  the  con- 
gregation and  to  minister  unto  them  in  His  name  ?  The 
Lord  does  not  account  it  so;  and  His  most  eminent  and  de- 
voted servants  in  all  ages  of  the  Church,  have  not  so  ac- 
counted it. 

From  its  very  nature  it  cannot  ever  be  reckoned  a  popu- 
lar worldly  vocation.  The  name  itself  signifies  serolce;  and 
the  Master  hath  said,  "  AVhosoever  Avill  be  great  among  you, 
shall  be  your  minister;  and  whosoever  of  you  will  be  the 
chiefest,  shall  be  servant  of  all."— (J/arA^,  x.  43,  44.) 

He  j^romises  His  followers  no  great  reward  of  earthly 
wealth  or  fame.  The  faithful  Ambassador  of  Christ  is  in 
an  enemy's  country,  as  yet ;  although  His  message  to  it  is 
one  of  i^eace  and  reconciliation,— and  he  knows  that  mes- 
sage is  certain  to  prevail  in  the  end  and  to  win  back  the 
world  to  his  Lord's  rightful  sovereignty. 

In  the  darkest  hour  of  persecution  or  even  of  death,  he 
has  always,  therefore,  looked  forward  with  a  steadfast  gaze 
to  the  hour  of  triumph,  and  to  the  universal  dominion  of 
his  King;  when  "the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  shall  cover 
the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 

The  more  jDerfectly  he  shall  apprehend  for  himself  that 
"  power  of  an  endless  life  "  which  he  proclaims  to  others, 
the  more  entirely  will  all  thought  of  the  fleeting  honors  or 
rewards  of  this  perishing  life,  seem  to  him  unworthy  of 
regard. 

"  Enduring  hardness  as  good  soldiers,"  such  as  these  ask 


ON   TIIK   MINISTRY   OF   THE   GOSPEL,  ETC.  58 

no  discharge  from  this  warfare;— perfectly  assured  not  ojily 
of  their  great  Captain's  ultimate  and  glorious  victory  but  also 
of  His  power  and  willingness  abundantly  to  provide  for  His 
faithful  servants ;  and  that  for  all  who  have  "  fought  the  good 
light,"  a  crown  of  righteousness  is  laid  up  which  the  Lord, 
the  righteous  Judge,  will  give  them  in  that  day.— (2  Tim. 
iv.  7,  8.) 

They  realize  that  the  battle  is  not  theirs  but  His  and  the 
victory  is  His:— and  that,  as  He  reminds  us,  "The  disciple 
is  not  above  his  Master  nor  the  servant  above  his  Lord.  It 
is  enough  for  the  disciple  that  he  be  as  his  Master  and  the 
servant  as  his  Lord." — {JMatt.  x.  24,  25.) 

"  Ye  shall  indeed  drink  of  the  cup  that  I  drink  of  and  be 
baptized  with  the  baptism  that  I  am  baptized  with."— (J/arA', 

X.  39.) 

Yet  He  comforts  them  with  the  glorious  assurance,— 
"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  there  is  no  man  that  hath  left 
house,  or  wife,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  children,  or  lands, 
for  My  sake  and  the  Gospel's  sake,  but  he  shall  receive 
manifold  more  in  this  time  and  in  the  world  to  come  eternal 
life."_(;Sfee  Marli  and  Luke,  R.V.)  * 

So  that  they  willingly  choose  to  partake  of  the  cup  and 
the  baptism,— the  persecution  and  if  it  need  be  the  death 
of  their  Lord  and  Master,— that  they  may  "fill  up  that 
which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  for  His  body's 
sake  which  is  the  Church  "  {Col.  i.  24),— and  be  pennitted 
to  do  somewhat,  in  their  generation,  to  advance  the  coming 

*  See  Extracts  from  the  "Heavenly  Side  of  the  Ministry,""  appended 
at  the  close  of  the  volume.  /^ 


54  irisa'OKicAL  essays. 

of  His  kingdom  and  the  glory  of  His  i)recious  Name ; — until 
these  shall  sj)read  "  from  sea  to  sea  and  from  the  river  even 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth." — {Zecli.  ix.  10.) 

EXAMPLE  OF  THE  EAELY  CHURCH. 

Thus  far  the  subject  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Gospel  has 
been  considered  mainly  from  a  Scriptural  j^oint  of  view ;  it 
being  clearly  recognized  that  our  ultimate  authority  for  all 
Christian  doctrine  and  practice,  must  rest  upon  the  revealed 
word  of  the  Lord,  or  must  conform  thereto. 

It  is  confirming,  however,  to  our  assurance  of  a  correct 
apprehension  of  the  truth  in  these  respects,  to  examine 
briefly,  yet  with  such  care  as  the  opportunity  may  permit, 
the  teachings  and  examjjle  of  the  Christian  Church  of  the 
first  two  centuries ;  more  esjDecially  of  the  Gentile  Churches, 
during  the  hundred  years  from  a.d.  50  to  a.d.  150. 

This  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  golden  age  of  the 
history  of  the  Church  of  Christ;  when,  mainly  through  the 
courage  and  fidelity  to  His  truth  of  the  great  Apostle  to  the 
Gentiles,  a  complete  declaration  of  independence  of  all  Jew- 
ish ritual  and  bondage  had  been  openly  avowed :  and  an  en- 
tire deliverance  from  the  restrictions  imposed  by  the  Elders 
at  J  erusalem  had.  been  effected  by  the  establishment  of  the 
Church  at  Antioch.* 

/J      *  One  of  the  ripest  scholars  in  our  own  branch  of  the  Church,  thus 
'writes  us : 
rO'  "  Christ  knew  how  strong  were  the  aversion  and  prejudice  of  the 

iJ  Jewish  mind  toward  tlie  Gfentile  world :  requiring,  in  order  to  give  free 

\/r  scope  to  a  world-wide  Gospel,  nothing  short  of  the  entire  destruction 

of  the  Temple,  and  with  it  the  passing  away  of  the  old  ritual  and  cere- 


ON   THE   MINISTRY    OF   THE   GOSPEL,  ETC.  55 

It  is  true  that  even  during  tliis  happy  era,  the  old  inllu- 
ences  were  still  at  work,  under  another  guise,  which  in  the 
end  would  so  largely  prevail  in  the  introduction  once  more 
of  a  certain  ritual  and  ceremonial  w^orship  into  the  Church 
of  Christ.* 

We  know,  however,  that  these  influences  were  steadfastly 
resisted  by  the  Apostles  and  by  their  successors  for  several 
generations;  and  that  these  post-apostolic  days  of  its  his- 
tory exemplify  a  comparative  liberty  and  purity  of  faith 
and  practice  to  which,  as  a  body,  it  has  never  yet  fully  re- 
turned. 

It  will  be  a  corroborative  authority  therefore  not  lightly 
to  be  estimated  or  set  aside,  if  we  should  find  that  the  views 
of  the  freedom  and  spirituality  of  Divine  w^orship  and  of 
the  Ministry  of  the  Gospel  which  have  been  set  forth  in  this 
essay, — as  always  held  by  the  Religious  Society  of  Friends, 
were  substantially  those  also  held  and  proclaimed  by  the 
Church  of  Christ,  at  the  period  we  are  about  to  pass  under 
brief  review. 


mony.  ...  It  should  be  constantly  maintained,  that  it  was  a  Gen- 
tile Christianity,  a  Christianity  for  all  nations  {iOvy)^  not  a  restricted 
Jewish  Christianity,  that  the  Lord  proposed  to  be  the  permanent  Cfos- 
pel  for  the  world ;  and  it  is  the  province  of  the  Christian  minister  clearly 
to  distinguish  between  the  two." — (Isaac  Brown,  of  Kendal,  Eng- 
land.) 

*  Dr.  Arnold,  of  Rugby,  speaks  of  this  fatal  influence : 
"It  seems  historically  certain,  that  the  Judaism  that  sought  to  en- 
force the  Mosaic  Law  on  the  primitive  believers, — after  having  thus 
vainly  endeavored  to  sap  the  very  life  and  freedom  of  the  Grospel,  did  V 
even  within  the  first  century  transform  itself  into  some  sort  of  Chris- 
tian guise,  and  substituting  Water  Baptism  for  Circumcision,  and  the 
mystic  influence  of  the  Bread  and  "NVine  for  the  Jewish  doctrine  of  puri- 
fying, and  defiling  meats,  did  thereby  pervert  Christianity  to  a  fatal 
extent." 


56  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS, 

Such,  it  would  seem,  was  the  opinion  of  its  greatest  His- 
torian,* Neander.  T.  K, 

*  The  following  interesting  confirmation  of  Neander's  views  of  the 
simplicity  and  spirituality  of  the  early  Christian  Church,  is  found  in 
John  Yeardley's  Journal  under  date, 

Berlin,  Fourth  month  25th,  1850. 

"At  3  o'clock  we  had  a  sweet  interview  with  Professor  Neander,  an 
aged  man  with  a  countenance  pervaded  by  Heavenly  calmness  and 
illumined  by  the  bright  shades  of  Gospel  light.  His  eyes  are  become 
dim  through  excessive  study.  His  heart  is  very  large,  full  of  love  and 
hope  in  Jesus  Christ. 

"  He  seemed  pleased  to  hear  some  account  of  the  order  of  our  Society, 
particularly  with  regard  to  the  Ministry  and  Gospel  Missions,  observing, 

"  '  With  you  then,  there  is  liberty  for  all  to  speak  when  moved  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  just  as  in  the  primitive  Church.'  This  observation  led  us 
to  several  points  of  our  discipline,  and  he  seemed  delighted  that  a 
Society  existed  whose  practice  in  many  things,  came  so  near  to  that  of 
the  primitive  Church." — See  London  Edition^  1859. 


A  SKETCH 


OF  THE 


EARLY    CHRISTIAN  CHURCH, 


A.D.  50— ISO 


Its  Organization,  Doctrines, 
and  Practical  Life. 


BY 

THOMAS    IvIMBER. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


The  purpose  of  this  Historical  Treatise  is  not  in  the  least  y^ 
degree,  controversial ;  nor  is  it  intended  to  be  dogmatic  or 
too  positive  in  its  statements.  Far  less  has  there  been  a 
design  to  cast  any  unfavorable  reflection  upon  the  received 
doctrines  and  practices  of  other  Branches  of  the  Church  of 
Christ;  or  to  claim,  for  our  own,  an  identity  in  all  respects 
with  the  Apostolic  and  Post- Apostolic  Churches. 

Its  object  is  simply  to  show,  on  incontestable  evidence, 
that  the  system  of  Christianity  which  its  Divine  Author  and 
His  first  followers  proclaimed  and  established,— and  which 
overthrew  the  existing  Heathen  institutions  and  empires  of 
the  earth,  then  at  the  very  summit  of  their  splendor  and 
their  power,— was  in  itself  a  simple,  spiritual  kingdom; 
which  stood  and  prevailed,  not  through  any  contrivance  or 
"  wisdom  of  man,"  but  in  the  "  power  of  God  "  alone. 

The  truths  proclaimed  by  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists  of 
the  Primitive  Church,  were  indeed  "glad  tidings  of  great 
joy,  which  should  be  to  all  peoples;  "  a  message  of  reconcili- 
ation and  pardon,  and  of.  eternal  peace  through  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  to  every  soul  of  man  who  would  receive  it  and 
believe  on  Him;—"  to  the  Jew  first  and  also  to  tlie  Gentile." 

No  distinction  was  made  in  this  "  glorious  Gospel  of  the 


> 


60  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

blessed  God."  There  was  no  respect  of  persons  in  its  pro- 
clamation. High  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  bond  and  free, 
were  all  equally  told  that  in  His  sight  "  there  was  no  differ- 
ence:" that  "all  had  sinned  and  were  fallen  short  of  the 
glory  of  God,"  and  that  "  God  had  concluded  all  under  un- 
belief that  He  might  have  mercy  upon  all." 

Many  thousands,  of  these  varied  classes  so  addressed, 
gladly  accepted  this  message  of  salvation  and  found  in 
Christ  Jesus  that  perfect  rest  which  their  weary  souls  longed 
for,  and  which  they  had  sought  among  the  existing  my- 
thologies in  vain. 

With  their  own  personal  acceptance  of  the  Gospel,  and 

their  experience  of  its  happy  results,  came  an  earnest  desire 

to  spread  the  knowledge  of  its  glorious  truths  throughout 

the  world: 

"  To  tell  to  all  around, 
What  a  dear  Saviour  they  had  found." 

The  Holy  Spirit  of  our  God  who  had  awakened  this  long- 
ing desire,  also  inspired  the  message,  and  gave  even  to  the 
humblest  instruments  both  utterance  and  power  in  its  pro- 
mulgation ;  sealing  on  the  hearts  of  the  hearers  a  conviction 
of  its  truth,  and  giving  it  a  general  acceptance  with  the 
people. 

Thus  the  mighty  forces  were  called  into  action  and  were 
permanently  sustained,  apart  from  any  considerations  of 
earthly  honor  or  gain,  which  gradually  revolutionized  the 
moral  institutions  and  the  religious  thought  of  the  civilized 

world. 

It  has  been  too  much  the  custom,  not  only  in  our  civil 


X 


INTRODUCTORY.  01 

but  in  our  religious  differences,  for  both  of  the  contending 
parties  to  make  appeal  to  the  Lord,  for  His  especial  favor 
and  indorsement ;  jierhaps  somewhat  in  the  language  of  the 
great  Leader  of  the  Hosts  of  Israel,  of  old:  "Art  Thou  for 
us,  or  for  those  who  oppose  us?" — The  answer  is  ever  the 
same,  now  as  then,  "Nay," — (that  is  not  the  question; — 
"  but  as  Captain  of  the  Host  of  the  Lord,  am  I  now  come." 
— "  I  will  be  for  you  to-morrow,  at  Jericho.  I  may  be 
against  you  next  week,  at  Ai;  but  will  always  be  for  my 
owTi  cause  and  truth,  and  only  on  the  side  of  those  who  are 
faithfully  maintaining  them." 

In  our  own  case,  it  is  freely  admitted  that  the  experiences 
of  the  Lord's  people,  both  at  Jericho  and  at  Ai,  have  not 
been  altogether  unknown  to  us  in  the  past ;  a  realization  of 
the  joys  of  victory  when  going  "  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord 
God  "  and  making  "  mention  of  His  righteousness  even  of 
His  only,"  and  of  the  humiliation  of  sore  defeat  when  think 
ing  to  stand  or  to  advance  in  our  own. 

We  may  humbly  and  thankfully  acknowledge  that  His 
Almighty  power  wonderfully  accompanied  the  earnest  and 
scriptural  proclamation  of  His  simj^le  truth,  by  our  Early 
Friends ;  while  yet  confessing  that  "  to  us  belongs  nothing 
but  confusion  of  face,"  in  a  retrospect  of  many  fruitless 
years  that  have  passed  since  then.  y^ 

The  Society  of  Friends  shared  largely  in  the  general 
decline  of  evangelical  religion,  which  prevailed  through- 
out England  and  America,  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  Eighteenth  century,  —  and  which  has  been  so  vividly 
described  by  Bishop  Butler,   Cowper,  and  others.     There 


vJa^/c--  <^ 


62  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

was  a  long  time  when  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement 
was  so  generally  unacceptable  to  the  assembled  congrega- 
tions, that  it  was  seldom  alluded  to  in  the  pulpit.  The 
Holy  Scriptures  themselves  became  less  and  less  esteemed, 
until  their  general  neglect  both  in  the  Church  and  the  fam- 
ily, led  to  the  most  deplorable  errors  of  faith  and  doctrine."* 

It  would  seem  as  though,  from  these  and  other  causes,  a 
sort  of  traditional  outward  morality  came  at  length  in  too 
large  a  measure,  to  be  substituted  for  the  vital  power  and 
life  of  that  true  Scriptural  Christianity  which  those  conse- 
crated servants  of  the  Lord,  our  Forefathers  in  the  Truth, 
rejoiced  in  and  through  which  they  prevailed. 

It  is  true  that  there  remained  amongst  us  many  bright 
examples  of  Christian  life  and  character,  whose  memory  we 
cherish  with  love  and  veneration. 

Moreover  there  were  men,  like  Benezet  or  Woolman  or 
Stephen  Grellett,  in  this  country, — and  Joseph  John  Gur- 

*  The  original  Circular,  issued  by  the  Founders  of  the  Friends'  Bible 
Society  of  America,  dated  "  Philadelphia,  4in.  17th,  1829,"  and  signed 
by  my  father  Thomas  Kimber,  Henry  Cope,  Thomas  Evans  and  others, 
is  before  nie  and  its  statements  with  regard  to  the  general  neglect  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  by  the  Society  of  Friends  of  that  day,  would  seem 
hardly  credible  if  not  so  fully  attested.  It  deplores  that  whole  "families 
and  schools,"  as  well  as  "  individuals  scattered  over  the  country,"  were 
"destitute  of  the  Sacred  volume,"  and  "a  considerable  portion  of  our 
Religious  Society  but  partially  supplied." 

It  justly  records. that  "had  proper  care  been  taken  to  inform  the 
;t  minds  of  children  "  though  Scriptural  instruction,  "  respecting  the  doc- 

trines of  the  Christian  faith,  many  who  are  now  perplexed  with  the 
doubts  and  difficulties  of  unbelief  might  have  been  saved  from  the  laby- 
rinth in  which  they  are  involved." 

This  general  indifference  had  already  at  that  time  culminated  in 
America  in  the  lamentable  separation  of  1828  on  essential  points  of 
Christian  doctrine.  In  England  its  sad  fruits  manifested  themselves  in 
a  wide-spread  unsoundness  of  faith,  although  without  an  open  rupture. 

T.    K. 


INTRODUCTORY.  63 

ney,  William  Allen,  Wm.  Forster,  J.  Hodgkin,  J.  B.  Braith-     y 
waite  and  others  in  England,  wlio  seemed  from  time  to  time 
raised  up  for  some  special  service  to  their  generation,  or  to 
ours;  whose  "praise  is  in  all  the  churches." 

Others,  less  prominent,  have  moved  "  so  holily,  and  justly 
and  unblamably,"  in  their  various  religious  and  social  cir- 
cles of  influence,  that  for  generations  they  have  continued 
to  be 

"  Named  softly,  as  the  household  names 
Of  those  whom  God  has  taken." 

Yet  after  making  this  acknowledgment,  it  must  be  sor- 
rowfully admitted  that  in  the  great  revivals  of  evangelical 
religion  during  the  Eighteenth  century,  throughout  England 
and  America,  under  the  ministry  of  Edwards,  Whitefield, 
Wesley  and  others,  and  which  are  said  to  have  resulted  in 
the  conversion  of  nearly  one  million  of  souls,  we  had  as  a 
Church  no  real  part ;  and  with  notable  exceptions,  very  little 
share  in  that  general  awakening  as  to  Bible  School  and 
Mission  work,  which  made  the  first  fifty  years  of  the  Nine- 
teenth century  so  memorable  and  fruitful  in  the  history 
of  the  Christian  Church. 

We  believe,  however,  that  a  brighter  day  has  dawned 
upon  our  beloved  Society;  and  that,  with  all  our  unfaith- 
fulness and  imperfections,  a  renewed  visitation  of  the  Lord's 
Spirit  and  life  has  appeared  within  our  borders,  of  latter 
years. 

The  fundamental  truths  of  the  Gospel,  so  plainly  laid 
down  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  seem  to  be  more  thoroughly 
comprehended  and   more  wisely  taught  amongst  us,  both 


64  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

publicly  and  privately;  and  a  fervent  missionary  zeal  lias 
been  almost  everywhere  aronsed,  which  has  led  to  some 
earnest  efforts  for  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  King- 
dom, at  home  as  well  as  abroad. 
y.  To  encourage,  on  right  grounds,  this  blessed  work  and  to 
help  the  sincere  workers, — as  well  as  to  reassure  our  mem- 
bers, young  and  old,  that  as  a  living  Branch  of  the  Church 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  possess,  in  a  faithful  mainten- 
ance of  the  simplicity  and  spirituality  of  His  Gospel,  all  the 
power  for  its  proclamation  and  all  the  elements  of  success 
that  accompanied  the  labors  of  our  Early  Friends  and  the 
more  wonderful  work  of  the  Early  Christian  Church, —these 
are  the  main  objects  of  this  essay.  T.  K. 


THE   EARLY  CHRISTIAN 

CHURCH. 


A.B.  50—150. 

On  every  hand  there  seems  to  have  been  awakened,  of        /^ 
latter  time,  an  earnest  and  growing  interest  in  the  doctrines 
and  practices  of  the  Early  Christian  Church;   more  espe- 
cially as  to  those  which  prevailed  during  the  first  two  cen- 
turies of  its  existence. 

The  discussions  among  English  and  German  scholars,  of 
modern  time,  with  regard  to  the  Epistles  of  Ignatius,— and 
on  the  ''Dldaclie,'' — as  well  as  their  more  recent  inquiries 
into  the  general  subject  of  the  ''Early  CJiristian  Minis- 
try^' * — are  at  once  an  evidence,  and  in  some  degree  a  cause, 

*  See  Bampton  Lectures,  by  Dr.  Hatch  and  others :  and  London  Ex- 
positor, 1887,  January  to  December. 

Pressense  gives  expression  to  the  importance  of  this  examination  of 
the  doctrines  and  practices  of  the  Post-Apostohc  Church,  in  memora- 
ble words : 

"  There  is  not  a  single  religious  party  which  does  not  feel  the 
need  either  of  confirmation  or  of  transformation.  .  .  .  Aspiration 
toward  the  Church  of  the  future  is  becoming  naore  general  and  more 
ardent.  For  all  Avho  admit  the  Divine  origin  of  Christianity,  the 
Church  of  the  future  has  its  type  and  ideal  in  that  great  past,  which 
goes  back  not  three,  hut  eighteen  centuries.  To  cultivate  a  growing 
knowledge  of  this,  in  order  to  attain  a  growing  conformity  to  it,  is 
the  task  of  the  Church  of  to-day.  .  .  .  This  is  the  path  in  which  it 
will  find  liberty  and  holiness— those  two  attributes  so  closely  linked 
together,  and  so  necessary  to  enable  the  church  to  rise  to  the  height  of 


^ 


66  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

of  that  wide-spreading  interest.  The  results  of  these  inves- 
tigations cannot  fail  to  prove  most  beneficial  to  the  cause  of 
Christ's  truth  and  to  the  edification  of  His  Church ;  how- 
ever partial  or  imperfect  many  of  the  conclusions  arrived  at, 
may  seem  to  us  to  be. 

The  nature  and  extent  of  such  investigations  are  always, 
of  course,  largely  determined  by  the  existing  belief  or  prej- 
udices of  the  inquirer. 

Tlie  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Anglican  Ritualist,  for  ex- 
ample, will  naturally  prefer  to  quote  the  authority  of  the 
Church  of  the  latter  part  of  the  Fourth  century, — and  with 
still  greater  confidence  that  of  the  Fifth  or  the  Sixth, — 
rather  than  to  rely  upon  any  precedents  drawn  from  the 
earlier  years  of  its  history: — contending  that  its  more 
matured  doctrines  and  riper  experience  are  to  be  esteemed 
of  greater  value  than  the  crude  apprehensions  of  an  inchoate 
and  irregular  existence.* 

Historians  and  scholars  of  more  evangelical  Christian  de- 
nominations, on  the  other  hand,  find  as  they  believe  in  the 
sim^Dle  teachings  and  practices  of  an  intermediate  period, — 

its  true  vocation.  ...  It  is  indeed  an  enviable  task  to  take  up  the 
history  of  the  Early  Ages  of  Christianity,  thanks  to  the  abundant 
sources  of  information  now  opened,  and  to  tlie  invaluable  discoveries 
of  manuscripts,  during  the  past  few  years.  .  .  .  We  feel  the  neces- 
sity of  re-conquering,  as  part  of  the  domain  of  history,  this  primi- 
tive age  of  the  Church."— (^a/%  Years  of  Christianity,  Apostolic  Era, 
pp.  7,  8.) 

*  From  numerous  authorities  for  this  statement,  the  following  opinion 
of  Cardinal  Newman— who  has  occupied  a  prominent  position  in  both 
of  these  churches,  has  been  selected  as  sufficient  here  "  Three  centuries, 
and  more,  were  necessary  for  the  infant  Church  to  attain  her  mature 
and  perfect  form  and  due  stature.  Athanasius,  Basil,  and  Ambrose  are 
the  fully  instructed  Teachers  of  her  doctrines,  morals  and  discipline." — 
{See  Churcli  in  the  Middle  Ages,''''  p.  65.) 


THE   EARLY    C1I1M8TIAN    CllUIU'ir.  67 

from  A.D.  200  to  350,  —abundant  and  satisfactory  eAddence 
of  the  fallacy  of  all  extreme  claims  of  the  Papal  Hierarchy, 
or  even  of  the  Established  Church  of  England.  They  are 
able  readily  to  prove,  by  these  records,  that  Ritualism  and 
Prelacy,  with  all  their  attendant  evils,  are  but  the  outgrowth 
of  those  corruptions  which  the  spirit  of  the  world  en- 
grafted upon  the  purer  faith  and  more  scriptural  customs 
of  its  earlier  and  better  days. 

Even  such  standard  and  excellent  Treatises,  for  example, 
as  Cave's  "Primitive  Christianity,"  or  King's  "Primitive 
Church,"  seldom  appear  to  go  back  of  the  Third  century  in 
their  scholarly  quotations ;  and  for  the  more  especial  pur- 
pose of  the  examination  jDroposed  in  this  essay,  have  there- 
fore at  times  been  found  to  be  largely  unavailing.  Those 
earnest  and  sincere  Commentators, — together  with  Dr.  Lard- 
ner  and  many  others, — doubtless  found  in  the  annals  of  that 
intermediate  period  a  sufficient  confirmation,  if  not  indeed 
an  accurate  reflection,  of  their  own  Christian  faith ;  and  so 
perhaps  were  content  unconsciously  to  rest  on  such  a  record, 
without  seeking  to  draw  back  the  veil  which  so  lare-elv 
covered  the  earlier  life  of  the  Church, — even  if  they  had 
otherwise  been  able  to  do  so.  This  might  have  been  how- 
ever, to  a  great  degree,  impossible  at  the  time  when  these 
summaries  were  compiled;  save  so  far  as  their  authority  had 
been  drawn  directly  from  the  Scripture  narratives  of  the 
Apostolic  days, — which  are  of  course,  even  now,  held  to  be 
the  standard  by  which  all  other  authorities  must  be  judged. 

The  recent  discoveries  of  valuable  ancient  manuscripts, 
and  the  important  results  of  patient  and  learned  researches 


^ 


68  HISTOKICAL   ESSAYS. 

of  modern  Arcliseologists,  have  opened  up  more  clearly  to 
our  apprehension,  the  true  history  of  the  post-apostolic  age; 
the  period  immediately  following  that  at  which  the  Sacred 
Records  close  their  statements.  By  a  careful  comparison  of 
all  these  varied  sources  of  information,  we  are  enabled  to 
arrive  at  a  more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  real  doctrines 
and  practices  of  the  Early  Church,  as  well  as  to  form  a  more 
correct  idea  of  its  general  organization  and  government, 
than  formerly  prevailed.* 

GRADUAL   TJlSrrOLDIlsrG   OF   THE   TRUTH. 

It  would  not  be  wise  however  to  overestimate  the  extent 
or  importance  of  this  knowledge,  or  to  attribute  an  undue 
authority  in  these  matters,  to  the  infant  Church.  Nothing 
is  more  certain  than  the  truth,  now  admitted  by  all,  that  its 
earthly  founders  often  failed  to  comprehend  the  real  mean- 
ing of  the  words,  or  the  full  purposes  of  the  Divine  mission, 
of  its  Heavenly  Lord  and  King.  It  is  true  that  His  full 
spiritual  meaning  may  always  be  found  involved  in  His 
words ;   but  not  always,  at  the  time,  unfolded  to  the  under- 


*  Professor  Salmon  thus  defines  the  obscurity  of  this  twihght  period : 
"  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  how  very  few  documents  we  have,  dating 
from  the  last  quarter  of  the  first  century  and  the  first  half  of  the  second. 
.  Church  history  here  seems  to  pass  through  a  tunnel.  We 
have  good  light  where  we  have  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  to 
guide  us,  and  good  light  when  we  come  to  the  abundant  literary  re- 
mains of  the  latter  part  of  the  Second  Century.  ...  If  in  our  study 
of  this  dimly  lighted  portion  of  history  we  wish  to  distinguish  what 
is  certain  from  what  is  doubtful,  we  may  expect  to  find  the  things 
certain  in  what  can  be  seen  from  either  of  the  two  well-lighted  ends. 
If  the  same  thing  is  visible  on  looking  from  either  end,  we  have  no 
doubt  of  its  existence."— ('S'ee  London  Expositor,  No.  xxxi.,  Art.  Chris- 
tian Ministry.) 


X 


THE   EARLY   ClIKISTIAN   CHURCH.  69 

standing  of  those  who  heard  them.*  We  may  clearly  recog- 
nize now,  as  we  read  them  in  the  light  of  the  centuries,  that 
they  comprehend  everything  that  has  been  since  revealed, 
or  perhaps  ever  can  be,  in  regard  to  His  unchangeable  truth ; 
and  yet  may  understand  how  the  eyes  and  the  hearts  of  His 
disciples  might  have  been  so  liolden,  or  the  interpretation 
so  withheld,  that  the  needful  transition  might  be  more 
easily  accomplished  from  the  Old  Covenant  to  the  New, — 
from  things  natural  to  things  sx3iritual. 

This  distinction  between  an  ordained  and  continual  prog- 
ress ill  our  comprehension  of  the  whole  "  Truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,"  and  any  change  or  variation  whatsoever  in  that 
eternal  Truth  itself,  cannot  be  too  earnestly  impressed  at 
the  outset,  upon  the  student  of  Church  History;  nor  too 
fully  comprehended  by  him, — and  steadily  borne  in  mind 
at  every  stage  of  his  investigations,  f 

*  Guericke  thus  speaks  of  the  iDrogressive  apprehension  of  Divine 
Truth  by  the  Early  Church : 

"  In  the  gift  of  the  Gospel,  at  the  first  establishment  of  the  Church, 
the  entire  sum  and  substance  of  Christian  truth  was  given.  But  this 
was  by  no  means  fully  understood  in  the  outset.  The  clear  apprehen- 
sion of  this,  in  itself  finished  and  final  revelation  of  God,  is  a  gradual 
process ;  becoming  more  and  more  self-consistent  and  all-comprehend- 
ing—  but  even  now  not  complete." — {Antiquities  of  the  Christian 
Church,  Introd.,  i^p.  8,  9.) 

Neander  comments  also  upon  this  grand  revelation : 

"  When  Christ  spoke  to  His  Apostles  of  certain  things  which  they 
could  not  yet  comprehend,  but  which  must  be  revealed  to  them  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  He  no  doubt  referred  to  the  essence  of  religion;  to  that 
worshipping  of  God  in  Spirit  and  in  truth,  which  is  not  necessarily 
confinetl  to  place  or  time,  or  to  any  kind  whatever  of  outward  ob- 
servances. .  .  .  The  Apostles  had  understood,  through  the  illumina- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  nature  of  the  spiritual  worshij)  founded  on 
faith — but  the  consequences  flowing  from  it,  they  had  not  clearly  ap- 
prehended."— (History  PUudinfj  Christian  Church,  vol.  i.,  p.  49.) 

f  Isaac  Brown,  of  Kendal,  Avrites: 

"  It  is  very  important,  in  searching  after  the  very  truth  as  it  is  in      r 


Y 


70  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

Our  Early  Friends  seem  to  liave  perfectly  understood  this 
distinction.  Tlieir  own  judgment  was  neither  in  accord  with 
that  of  the  modern  Ritualist,  as  to  the  superior  authority 
of  the  more  mature  Church  of  the  Fifth  or  Sixth  Century, 
— nor  with  the  literalist  who  would  construe  every  word  of 
our  Lord  just  as  His  AjDostles  and  their  immediate  followers 
might  have  understood  it ; — and  who  would  so  practically 
assign  to  the  infant  organization  of  Christian  believers,  a 
suj)reme  position  as  expositors  of  its  full  meaning. 

"  We  do  not,"  said  Robert  Barclay,  sjpeaking  on  behalf  of 
his  associates,  "  claim  the  revelation  of  any  new  Gospel,  but 
we  do  claim  a  neio  7~evelation  (unveiling),  of  the  good  old 
Gospel  of  Christ.''''  In  this  liberty  they  stood,  and  thought 
and  acted ;  and  the  position  which  they  tlien  took  on  this 
subject,  is  now  accepted  as  the  only  tenable  one  by  the  best 
scholars  of  the  Church; — although,  in  our  apprehension  at 
least,  these  may  yet  fail  in  some  respects  to  grasp  the  exceed- 
ing breadth  of  the  commandment,  (or  word),  of  the  Lord. 

Christ,  to  note  tne  progressiveness  of  God's  revelations  to,  and  dealings 
with  His  creature  man;  that  as  regards  the  Old  Testament  we  may  dis- 
tinguish that  which  was  meant  to  be  for  the  Israelites  only,  and  so 
intended  to  be  transitory,  from  that  which  is  the  unchangeable  truth 
of  God  and  intended  for  all  time  and  for  all  peojiles :  and  to  note  in  the 
New,  that  it  was  Christ's  purpose  to  teach  the  people,  and  even  His 
especial  disciples  as  they  were  able  to  bear  it." — Kendal,  Eng.,  9m.  7, 
1887. 

Thomas  De  Haney  Bernard  is  very  clear  on  this  point ; 

"  Though  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus  all  the  truth  might  be  implied^  it 
was  not  all  opened;  therefore  the  Holy  Ghost  was  to  add  to  that  which 
had  not  been  delivered,  as  well  as  to  recall  that  which  had  been  already 
spoken. 

"  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  you  cannot  bear  them 
now;  they  are  things  of  such  a  kind  as  would  now  weigh  down  and 
oppress  your  minds,  seeing  that  they  surpass  your  present  jjowers  of 
spiritual  comprehension." — (-See  Bampton  Lectures— Progress  of  Doc- 
trine in  the  Nezo  Testament,  p.  75.) 


THE    EAKLY    CIIKISTIAX    CHURCH.  71 

It  was  always  so :  the  Prophets  and  Holy  Men  of  old  who 
wrote  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  were  at  a  loss 
to  comprehend,  in  their  fulness,  the  messages  of  salvation 
which  they  so  faithfully  delivered.  We  read  in  1  Peter  (i. 
10-12): 

"Of  which  salvation  the  prophets  have  enquired  and 
searched  diligently,  who  i:)rophesied  of  the  grace  that  should 
come  unto  you:  searching  what,  or  what  manner  of  time 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify,  when  he 
testified  beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the  glory 
that  should  follow.  Unto  whom  it  was  revealed  that  not 
unto  themselves  but  unto  us  they  did  minister  the  things 
which  are  now  reported  unto  you  by  them  that  have 
preached  the  gospel  unto  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent 
down  from  heaven;  which  things  the  angels  desire  to  look 
into." 

By  the  full  recognition  of  this  truth  we  may  be  preserved 
on  the  one  hand,  from  the  errors  arising  from  too  slavish  a 
subjection  to  mere  human  interpretation,  and  on  the  other, 
from  the  still  greater  danger  of  any  comp)romise  or  question 
of  the  sup)reme  authority  and  infinite  application  of  the 
words  of  our  Lord  Himself;  of  which  He  declared,  "They 
are  spirit,  and  they  are  life,"  {John,  vi.  63);— and  that 
"  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  My  words  shall  not 
pass  away." — {LuJce,  xxi.  33.) 

It  is  wonderful  too  how  this  clear  comprehension  dis- 
poses of  all  difficulties  arising  from  the  imperfect  and  un- 
satisfactory evidence  of  contemporaneous  records  in  those 
early  days.     Take  for  instance  the  ''Bklaclie^'  republished 


y 


72  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

within  the  past  five  years  at  Constantinople,  and  about 
which  so  much  has  been  written  of  late.  Its  authenticity, 
as  a  very  early  record  of  the  institutions  of  the  Church,  is 
undoubted,  but  already  the  glowing  estimate  at  first  formed 
of  its  value  as  a  manual  of  pure  Christian  doctrine,  is  chang- 
ing in  quarters  least  expected  and  where  the  fidelity  of  its 
testimony  to  facts  is  fully  credited.'^ 

Indeed  it  is  evident  that  neither  the  Apostles  nor  their 
immediate  converts,  had  at  first  contemplated  the  formation 
of  a  separate  Christian  Church  at  all.  They  comprehended 
truly  that  the  promised  Messiah  had  come,  of  whom  Moses 
in  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  did  write,  and  they  proclaimed 
everywhere  the  obligation  both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  to  rec- 
ognize this  great  truth  and  to  honor  and  worship  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  as  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world.f 

But  they  were  slow  to  comprehend  the  idea  of  His  Cliurch 
as  a  Spiritual  Kingdom,  which  would  not  only  supplant  of 
necessity  the  Jewish  Hierarchy,  but  should  spread  over  the 
whole  earth  and  overthrow  all  the  great  Heathen  Kingdoms 

*  Professor  Sanday  expresses  not  only  his  own  opinion  but  that  of 
other  scholars,  on  this  distinction : 

"  The  value  of  the  Didache  as  a  witness  to  facts,  is  a  distinct  ques- 
tion from  its  value  as  a  religious  treatise.  It  seems  to  me  more  easy  to 
exaggerate  the  latter  than  the  former.  ...  It  appears  to  represent 
the  average  common  sense  of  an  honestly  Christian,  but  not  very 
advanced  Community— with  Jewish  antecedents  or  affinities."— (/S'ee 
Origin  of  Christian  Ministry,  Lond.  Expositor,  Jan.,  1887,  p.  13.) 

f  Neander,  with  other  Christian  historians,  notes  this  partial  appre- 
hension : 

"  The  Disciples  had  not  yet  attained  to  a  clear  understanding  of  that 
call,  which  Christ  had  already  given  them  by  so  many  intimations,  to 
forma  Church,  entirely  separated  from  the  existing  Jewish  economy; 
.  .  .  though  a  higher  principle  of  life  had  been  imparted,  by  which 
their  religious  consciousness  was  to  be  progressively  inspired  and  ivaxis- 
ioTinedy— {History  Planting  Christian  Church,  pp.  28,  39.) 


THE   EAKLY    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  73 

of  the  world: — should  conquer  even  that  mighty  Ronian  Y 
Empire,  which  was  then  at  tlie  summit  of  its  power  and 
splendor; — a  "kingdom  not  of  this  world,"  and  yet  in  its 
outward  existence  a  visible  and  systematic  organization, — 
with  its  distinct  forms  of  government,  its  close  bonds  of 
fellowship,  its  conclusive  authority  as  a  preserver  and  expos- 
itor of  the  Truth,  and  its  vast  powers  for  the  service  and 
for  the  glory  of  its  Lord."^ 

It  is  a  i)recious  thought  that  from  the  beginning  the  Lord  V 
Jesus  knew  it  all,  even  when  Plis  chosen  followers  thus  failed 
to  apprehend  it:  how  His  Church  is  called  His  ''Bride," 
and  how  we  are  told  that  He  loved  it  and  gave  Himself  for 
it,  .  .  .  "  that  He  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the 
washing  of  water  by  the  word, — that  He  might  j)resent  it 
to  Himself  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle 
or  any  such  thing,  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish:'— {BpJi.  v.  25-27.) 

Even  under  the  Old  Covenant  dispensation  we  read  that 
''Tlie  Lord's  portion  is  His  people"  (Z)ez<^^.  xxxii.  9);  and 
long  afterward  the  Apostle  Paul  prays  for  the  Church  of 
Ephesus,  "That  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Father  of  glory,  may  give  unto  you  the  Spirit  of  wisdom 

*  Guericke  gives  this  definition : 

"  The  Christian  Church  is  in  its  essence,  an  invisible  society,  held 
together  by  the  bond  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  visible  in  its  nianifesta-  "^ 
tion; — (ecclesia  in  the  common  acceptation) — having  an  outward  or- 
ganization and  polity  cori-esponding  so  far  as  is  possible  with  such 
an  animating  spirit.  ...  It  is  a  union  of  those  who  are  united  to- 
gether by  a  connnon  faith  in  the  Redeemer,  and  whose  destination  it  is 
to  promote  each  other's  edification  and  to  co-operate  in  the  spreading 
of  this  faitli,  for  the  illumination,  sanctification,  and  blessedness  of 
humanity,  and  the  ever-widening  manifestation  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
in  it." — {Ancient  CJiurch  Hintory,  p.  2.) 


^ 


74  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

and  revelation  in  the  knowledge  of  Him; — the  eyes  of  your 
understanding,  (heart,  R.  V.),  being  enlightened, — that  ye 
may  know  what  is  the  ho]3e  of  His  calling  and  what  tlie 
ricJies  of  the  glory  of  His  inheritance  in  the  Saints. — 
{E2:)h.  i.  17,  18.) 

The  very  name  "  Church,"  or  Kirk  (xupiaxw)^  signifies  the 
'''' Lord's  own^^ — the  j^ossession  or  "  portion  of  the  Lord ;  " 
and  such  He  has  always  accounted  it  and  blessed  be  His 
Name  He  so  accounts  it  to  this  day.  We  read  that  "  the 
praises  of  Israel,"  of  the  redeemed  in  glory,  the  song  of  the 
Church  triumphant  in  Heaven,  are  His  chosen  "  habitation," 
His  eternal  joy  and  crown. 

SIMPLICITY    or    WORSHIP. 

Before  entering  u]3on  some  consideration  of  the  govern- 
ment and  organization  of  the  Early  Church,  and  the  ap- 
pointment as  well  as  the  duties  of  its  varied  officers,  let  us 
glance  for  a  little  while  at  the  simx^licity  and  spirituality  of 
its  puhlic  worship,  in  the  first  centuries  of  its  existence. 

The  subject  of  Water  Baptism, — and  that  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  (with  its  antecedent  ceremonies  of  the  Jewish 
Passover  or  the  Greek  love  feast  aya-s^  and  its  ultimate 
merger  into  the  regular  Church  service  of  the  "  Eucharist," 
or  so-called  "  Holy  Communion  "  of  modern  Christendom), 
— will  not  be  dwelt  upon  here;  that  history  having  been 
sufficiently  presented  in  a  recent  treatise  on  "7%e  Baptism 
and  Supper  of  our  Lord^''—^''  to  which  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred. 

*  Published  by  Friends'  Book  and  Tract  Association,  No.  56  Lafa- 
yette Place,  NeM-  Yoi-k. 


THE  EARLY   CHRISTIAN   CIIURCn.  75 

All  the  otlier  public  services  of  the  AjDOstolic  and  Post- 
apostolic  Church  appear  to  have  been  at  first  not  only 
humanly  unplanned,  but  to  have  been  directly  insi)ired  by 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  as  His  people  were  gathered 
in  His  Name. 

It  is  evident  indeed  that  great  simplicity  of  worship 
would  naturally  follow  the  entirely  unpremeditated  charac- 
ter of  its  organization,  of  which  we  have  been  speaking ;  as 
well  as  from  the  fact,  that  "  not  many  wise  men  after  the 
flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble  were  called,"  in 
those  early  days  of  Church  history  (1  Cor.  i.  26).  Yet  these 
were,  confessedly,  the  days  of  its  most  marvellous  growth 
and  greatest  sj)iritual  purity  and  power. 

READIlSra   OF   THE   HOLY    SCRIPTURES. 

Taking,  however  unconsciously,  some  of  the  forms  of  the 
Jewish  Synagogue  worship,  we  find  that  the  reading  of  some 
I)ortion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  seemed  from  the  outset  to 
constitute  a  regular  part  of  the  public  w^orship  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  At  first  of  course  these  Readings  w^ere  of  ne- 
cessity from  the  Old  Testament  Scrii)tures, — the  Gos23els  and 
the  Epistles  not  having  been  then  written.  About  the  close 
of  the  First  Century,  however,  these  books  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament were  also  reverentially  quoted  and  equally  valued 
as  of  Divine  authority  in  all  questions  of  faith  and  X)i"actice, 
and  were  publicly  read  in  the  congregations. 

There  were  other  less  canonical  writings  held  in  such  high 
esteem  as  to  be  frequently  referred  to  in  their  public  assem- 
blies, even  in  the  Second  Century.     Among  these  were  the 


y 


^ 


76  HISTOKICAL   ESSAYS. 

Epistles  of  Barnabas,  and  of  Clement  of  Rone, — the  "  Shep- 
herd of  Hernias,"  and  other  writings ;  but  they  rested  on  a 
very  different  footing  from  the  authorized  Canon  of  Holy 
Scripture. 

For  the  first  Hundred  years,  esiDecially  among  the  Gentile 
churches,  these  Readings  were  apparently  spontaneous  and 
informal;— no  passages  being  selected  beforehand  and  no 
appointment  of  "  Readers "  being  then  made.  Each  ap- 
proved member  was  at  liberty  to  read  such  Scripture  as  he 
felt  called  upon  to  present  for  the  consideration  of  the  assem- 
bled church.* 

Of  the  change  of  practice  which  followed  at  a  subsequent 
period  and  the  appointment  of  regular  Readers,  both  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament  Scriptures,  there  will  be  occasion 
to  speak  when  considering  the  varied  and  gradually  chang- 
ing offices  of  Teachers  and  Ministers  of  the  word  in  the 
Christian  Church. 

LIBERTY   OF   THE   SPIRIT. 

It  is  in  this  characteristic  feature  of  entire  simplicity  and 
spiritual  liberty,  that  the  views  and  practices  of  the  Early 
Friends  will  be  found  most  especially  to  resemble  those  of 
the  Post- Apostolic  Church. 

Nothing  in  the  public  worship  of  either  appears  to  have 
been  premeditated,  or  humanly  arranged.  They  each  be- 
lieved in  the  "  real  presence  "  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 
the  assemblies  of  His  people,  and  that   His   Holy  Si)irit 

*See  'Pressens^''s  Apostolic  Church,  p.  309;  Guericke's  Antiquities, 
pp.  211,  212;  and  Tertullian,  Apol.  (c.)— 39. 


THE   EARLY   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  77 

would  lead  the  exercises  and  insj)ire  the  varied  acts  of  their 
devotion. 

On  the  subject  which  we  have  been  considering,  Robert 
Barclay  clearly  shows  that  his  associates  raised  no  question 
whatever  with  regard  to  an  appropriate  reading  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  in  their  Meetings,  when  called  for;  but,  to  use  his 
own  emphasized  language,  only  "  whether  men  may  make 
use  of  these  things  in  public  worship^  otherwise  than  as 
led  and  injlueneed  by  the  Spirit  so  to  do.''''  {See  Barclay'' s 
Works;  Lond.  Ed.  1691,  p.  68.) 

They  held  that  "  in  the  life  and  power  of  the  Lord,"  and 
at  His  bidding,  such  a  service  was  suitable  to  the  occasion 
and  would  prove  edifying  to  the  hearers;  but  that  as  a 
mere  formal  ritual,  "  out  of  His  Life  and  power,"  such  pub- 
lic reading,  even  of  those  sacred  writings,  could  not  glorify 
Him  nor  strengthen  and  comfort  His  Church. 

George  Fox  placed  in  Swarthmore  Meeting  House  a  Bible, 
for  the  use  of  Friends  who  should  gather  there, — chaining 
it  to  a  desk  that  it  might  not  be  taken  away.  A  similar 
custom  had  prevailed  in  the  Cathedrals  and  Churches  of 
England,  in  accordance  with  a  Royal  Proclamation  to  that 
effect  after  the  Reformation. 

I  have  seen  this  identical  Bible  and  chain,  which  are  still  )xf 
preserved  in  the  neighborhood.  It  is  true  that  he  also  pro- 
vided various  accommodations  for  travelling  ministers,  in 
other  parts  of  the  House ; — but  the  desk  and  the  Bible  were 
placed  in  the  Meeting  room;  with  the  ex^Dressed  intention 
that  those  arriving  early  should  be  able  to  read  it,  and  that 
it  might  be  convenient  for  use.     His  own  practice,  with  that 


78  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

of  Edward  Burrough  and  others,  of  "  plucking  out  a  Bible 
from  the  pocket "  to  prove  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  that  they 
publicly  preached,  has  been  already  alluded  to.  Yet  in  the 
regular  Meetings  of  Friends,  it  appears  only  to  have  been 
made  use  of,— as  Barclay  in  another  place  says  it  'was  so 
used  at  times,— under  the  "  sanction  of  the  Lord." 

a,  SOlSrGS   OF   PRAISE. 

So  with  regard  to  Singing  in  Public  Worship.  Fox  and 
many  other  approved  cotemporary  authorities,  confirm  in 
varied  language,  the  testimony  officially  given  on  this  point 
by  Barclay  in  his  "Apology  for  the  true  Christian  T>\\'m- 
ity,"__(76/6Z.,  p.  473.) 

"As  to  the  Singing  of  Psalms,  there  will  not  be  the  need 
of  any  long  discourse,  for  that  the  case  is  just  the  same  as 
in  the  two  former  oi  preaching  and  prayer."" 

"  We  confess  this  to  be  apart  of  God's  worship,  and  mry 
sweet  and  refreshful,  when  it  proceeds  from  a  true  sense 
of  God's  love  in  the  heart,  and  arises  from  the  Divine  in- 
fluence of  the  Spirit,  which  leads  souls  to  breathe  either  a 
sweet  harmony,  or  words  suitable  to  the  present  condition ; 
whether  they  be  loords  formerly  used  by  the  saints,  and 
recorded  in  Scripture,  such  as  the  Psalms  of  David  or  other 
words,  as  were  the  hymns  and  songs  of  Zacharias,  Simeon 
and  the  blessed  Virgin  Maryr    {All  Italics  Barclay's.) 

He  repeats  still  more  emphatically  the  same  views  in  a 
tract  entitled  ''Truth  Cleared  of  Calumnies,''  republished 
in  the  same  volume  (p.  39). 

"  That  Singing  of  Psalms  was  used  by  the  saints,  that 


THE   EARLY   CIIllISTIAN   CHURCH.  79 

it  is  a  part  of  God'^s  worship  when  performed  in  His  will 
and  by  His  Spirit,  and  that  it  may  be,  and  is  warrantably 
performed  among  the  saints,  is  a  thing  denied  by  no  Quaker 
(so  called) :  and  it  is  not  unusual  amongst  them,  whereof  I 
have  myself  been  a  witness,  and  have  felt  the  sweetness  and 
quickening  virtue  of  the  Spirit  therein  and  at  such  occasions 
ministered.  And  that  at  times  David's  icords  may  also  be 
used,— as  the  Spirit  leads  thereunto,  and  as  they  suit  the 
condition  of  the  party,  is  acknowledged  without  dispute." 

He  states  distinctly,  however,  that  no  human  art  or  elab- 
orate melody  were  needed  on  these  occasions,  or  were  ap- 
propriate to  them ;  but  that  the  Spirit  of  God  would  enable 
the  instrument  to  breathe  forth,  in  living  harmony,  such 
"  Psalms  and  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs,"  as  He  Himself 
might  bring  to  remembrance,  to  His  own  praise.  Let  us  now 
look  at  the  practice  of  the  first  Christians  in  this  respect. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  vocal  praise  of  God  formed 
an  important  part  of  the  worship  of  the  Christian  Church, 
from  the  earliest  period  of  its  history;— yet  this  service 
seems  to  have  been  for  a  long  time  of  the  simj)lest  character. 

Nearly  two  centuries,  at  least,  had  elapsed  before  there 
was  such  a  thing  known  as  singing  "  in  course,^'' — or  "  anti- 
y  plional  singing,^'' — {antiplwnai) ;  the  chanting  having  been 
so  artless  and  natural  that  it  seemed  rather  like  reciting  in 
cadence,  than  what  we  call  song.  Of  this  there  is  abundant 
testimony.* 

*  Griiericke,  for  example,  states  that  "  In  the  first  centuries,  the 
Hynmology  of  the  Church  seems  to  have  been  extremely  simple  and 
artless;  being,  according  to  the  statement  of  Isodorns  (de  Scclesiia.st., 
•<.     I.  5),  chiefly  recitative. — "Primitiva  Ecclesia  ita  psallebat,  ut  modico     y^ 


Y 


80  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

Tlie  subject,  as  well  as  the  words,  of  the  Hymns  in  these 
early  days  were  most  generally  taken,  as  the  Spirit  seemed 
to  dictate,  from  the  Holy  Scriptures;  the  Psalms  being 
usually  chanted,— or  the  ''Ter  Sanctus,'"  (from  Isaiah,  vi. 
3);  —the  ''Magnificat  {Luke,  i.  46,  etc.);  the  "-Song  of  the 
Three  Children''  in  the  fiery  furnace;  ending  at  times  with 
the  "  Doxology,"  so  called  (in  Ren.  i.  5,  6,  or  Luke,  ii.  14,— 
and  other  such  passages),  with  gradual  additions. 

Extempore  hymns  of  praise  were  also  chanted  by  those 
who  felt  inspired  thereto ;  the  same  Divine  call  and  qualifi- 
cation being  claimed  and  being  thought  needful  for  all  of 
these  services  as  for  any  other  act  of  public  worship,  in  the 
Apostolic  and  Post- Apostolic  days:  of  which  there  are  many 
and  varied  accounts. 

Even  this  simple  usage  may  possibly  have  lapsed  into 
something  of  a  formality  after  the  time  of  Ignatius;  whom 
a  doubtful  legend  credits  with  having  introduced  into  the 
Church  at  Antioch  an  alternate  chanting  of  passages  from 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  Lord's  prayer  and  other  short  in- 
vocations; and  which  practice  is  said  thus  to  have  passed 


I  flexu  vocis  faceret  psoMentem  resonare;  ita  nt  pronuncianti  vieinior 
\  esset,  quam  canentir— After  the  Fourth  Century,  however,  which  called  / 
into  existence  professional  singers  {eantatores  or  psaltai),  it  continu- 
ally received  greater  culture  and  variety."  —  {See  Antiquities  of  the 
Christian  Church,  p.  203.) 

Pressenst?,  after  quoting  the  following  passage  from  Chrysostom  on 
this  subject,  "  Men,  women  and  children  are  distinguishable  only  by 
their  manner  of  singing,  for  the  Spirit,  lohich  directs  the  voice  of  each, 
blends  all  into  one  strain  of  melody,''  goes  on  to  say, 

"  Vocal  music,  which  alone  was  used  in  the  primitive  church,  had 
none  of  those  resources  of  harmony  at  command  which  high  art  has 
adopted  in  modern  times,  and  was  chiefly  recitative:''— {Early  Years 
of  Christianity,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  305,  307.)     v 


THE   EARLY    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  81 

gradually  into  the  worship  of  the  other  Churches.*  This 
rests,  however,  on  very  uncertain  tradition — is  not  recorded 
till  long  afterward,  and  seems  now  undeserving  of  serious 
consideration. 

It  is  an  interesting  and  remarkable  fact,  however,  that  the 
introduction  of  elaborate  hymns,  as  well  as  of  a  more  artifi- 
cial style  of  singing,  into  their  public  worship  most  cer- 
tainly did  not  take  place  until  the  Fourth  century;  when 
we  read  that  they  were  especially  intended  to  counteract  the 
doctrinal  errors  embodied  in  the  beautiful  religious  songs  of 
the  Arians  and  other  heretical  sects ;— which  were  thought 
to  have  been  the  means  of  leading  many  away  from  the 
Orthodox  Church,  by  their  captivating  music.f 

*  The  Historian  Socrates,  writing  from  Constantinople  in  the  early 
part  of  the  fifth  century  (after  confirming  in  detail  the  testimony  here- 
inafter given  in  regard  to  the  beautiful  music  of  the  Arians  of  the  fourth 
century),  relates  the  following  legend  :— 

"  Ignatius  saw  a  vision  of  angels,  praising  in  alternate  chants;  after 
which  he  introduced  this  mode  of  singing  he  had  observed  in  the  vision, 
into  the  Antiochan  Church,  whence  it  was  transmitted  to  all  the  other 
Churches.  Such  is  the  account  we  have  veceived:''— (Ecclesiastical 
History,  Lond.  Ed.,  p.  315.) 

f  Guericke  entirely  indorses  this  view 

"And  since  it  was  by  the  means  of  hymns  and  the  beautiful  music 
to  which  they  were  sung,  that  Arius  contrived  to  disseminate  his  erro- 
neous doctrines,  many  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  were  stimulated 
to  meet  the  evil  by  the  composition  of  orthodox  hymns;  and  the  attempt 
Avas  made  first  of  all  in  the  East,  from  whence  it  was  adopted  also  by 
the  West.  Subsequently  to  the  4th  century  we  find  the  AVest  possess- 
ing peculiar  hymns  of  its  own." 

Of  the  introduction  of  this  artificial  music  into  the  Church  worship, 
he  quotes  the  following  account  from  Sozomenus  (H.  E.  VIII.  8) : 

"  The  Arians,  in  the  depth  of  night,  walked  in  processions  by  torch 
light,  singing  beautiful  hymns  and  anthems,  to  which  the  people 
flocked  in  troops.  Accordingly  St.  Chrysostom  believed  that  nothing 
better  could  be  done  than  to  attempt  to  surpass  the  Arians,  by  still 
more  beautiful  singing  and  by  orthodox  hymns;  thereby  introducing 
a  Church  psalmody  of  a  more  solenm  and  moving  character."— (^ivi- 
tiquities  of  the  Christian  Church,  pp.  203,  208.) 
6 


X 


82  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

It  is  not  intended  by  this  notice  to  express  any  critical 
judgment  in  regard  to  the  propriety  of  such  a  change  under 
the  circumstances,  but  simply  to  record  the  fact.  While  we 
can  hardly  conceive  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  or  of  His 
Apostles,  resorting  to  such  methods  to  commend  to  the 
people  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  which  they  proclaimed, — 
and  while  at  this  very  time  the  power  of  that  simple  GosjDel 
had  already  prevailed  so  extensively  throughout  the  world, 
that  the  reigning  Emperor  Constantine  had  accepted  and 
professed  the  Christian  faith, — yet  in  reviewing  the  record 
of  God's  dealings  with  the  children  of  men,  we  must  ac- 
knowledge that  "  His  ways  are  not  as  our  ways  nor  His 
thoughts  as  our  thoughts ; "  and  that  in  condescension  to 
our  human  weakness  He  often  permits,  and  even  overrules 
for  good,  much  that  He  may  not  have  absolutely  ordained. 

History  repeats  itself  remarkably  in  this  respect,  as  in 
many  others.  For  more  than  a  hundred  years  after  the 
English  and  Scottish  Reformation,  the  practice  of  hymn- 
singing  was  almost  unknown  in  tlie  churches  of  Great 
Britain;  although  the  German  Reformers  had  largely 
availed  themselves  of  its  popular  aid,  both  in  their  social 
and  public  worship.  Gradually  however,  and  against  great 
opposition  from  the  common  people  so  recently  delivered 
from  the  bondage  of  the  Romish  ritual,  the  modern  practice 
of  singing,  first  of  the  Psalms  in  some  rude  metre  and  after- 
ward of  devotional  hvmns,  has  become  almost  universal  in 
the  Protestant  churches  of  English-speaking  lands :  and  the 
beautiful  and  fervent  compositions  of  Watts  and  Cowper,  of 
the  Wesleys  and  Toj^lady,  of  Charlotte  Elliott  and  Frances 


THE   EAKLY    CIIRISTIAISr    CHUKCH,  83 

Ridley  Havergal  and  many  otliers,  filled  as  they  are  mth 
evangelical  truth  and  overllowing  with  Divine  love,  have  un- 
doubtedly been  the  means  of  blessing  to  many  thousands. 

The  conservation  of  a  sound  and  vital  Theology  in  the 
pul)lic  ministrations  of  the  Church  universal,  by  the  varied 
and  repeated  strains  of  lofty  devotion,  to  which  such  pious 
and  gifted  wTiters  have  given  utterance,  has  doubtless  been 
largely  promoted;  and  this  is  held,  by  many  of  our  most  y 
earnest  thinkers,  to  have  been  of  the  Lord's  own  appoint- 
ment,— and  of  most  es^^ecial  importance  in  the  present  age 
of  unbelief  and  of  general  unsettlement  as  to  the  cardinal  » 
truths  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.* 

Then  too  no  one  can  doubt  that  the  Holy  Spirit  of  our 
God,  in  answer  to  most  earnest  prayer,  has  greatly  aided  in 
the  composition  of  many  of  these  beautiful  hymns ; — and 
that  He  often  accompanies  with  His  power  and  seals  with 
His  blessing  their  heartfelt  adoption  by  the  sincere  wor- 
shipj)er. 

Nor,  again,  can  any  one  have  ever  witnessed  the  powerful 

*  Isaac  Taylor  thus  speaks  of  this  important  influence,  in  the  wor- 
ship of  the  dissenting  congregations  of  Great  Britain . 

"  In  all  these  country  chajjels,  often  the  officiating  minister  was  a 
local  preacher  of  the  district.  .  .  .  Like  a  summer's  shower  in  a 
time  of  drought,  was  the  hymn  sung  on  such  occasions.  .  .  .  The 
prea(!her  could  at  least  read  it,  and  the  hymn-book  was  in  almost  every 
hand,  to  secure  for  the  congregation  the  benefits  of  a  worship,  ani- 
mating, elevating,  instructive,  unexceptionable."  ..."  In  any  system 
of  public  worship  the  constant  element  will  always  exercise  a  great 
influence  over  the  variable  part,  the  extemporaneous,  in  giving  it 
tone  and  direction  and  in  preserving  a  doctrinal  consistency  in  the 
pulpit  teaching.  ...  In  comnuinities  that  have  laid  aside  liturgies, 
the  Hymn  l^ook  which  they  use,  especially  if  psalmody  be  a  favored 
part  of  public  worship,  rules  as  well  the  preacher  as  the  people  to  a 
greater  extent  than  is  often  thought  of  or  than  would  perhaps  be  ac- 
knowledged.— {^'Wealey  and  Methodism,''''  pp.  93,  93.) 


X 


> 


84  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

aid  which  such  glowing  evangelical  and  "  spiritual  songs  " 
afford  to  the  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  in  seasons  of  special 
revival  or  in  general  mission  work  among  the  unconverted  * 
or  their  sweet  and  holy  influence  in  the  hours  of  sickness  or 
sorrow,  without  realizing  that  when  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
accompanies  such  service,  it  is  largely  owned  of  Him  in  the 
salvation  of  souls  and  in  the  comfort  of  His  believing  chil- 
dren. 

Had  such  hymns  been  extant  in  the  days  of  the  "  Early 
Friends,"  we  may  feel  sure  that  many  of  them  would  have 
been  classed  with  those  "  other  loords  of  the  saints,''  per- 
missible to  be  adopted  in  the  same  liberty  and  under  the 
same  restraints  of  that  blessed  Holy  Spirit  to  whom  they 
looked  for  guidance  in  all  their  devotions ;  and  that  where 
so  ordered,  they  would  also  have  been  confessed  to  be  "  an 
acceptable  part  of  Divine  worship''' 

In  the  early  years  of  the  Christian  Church  however,  as 


*  It  seems  right  to  recall,  l>y  way  of  illustration,  a  memorable  scene 
I  witnessed  in  Philadelphia,  during  the  meetings  held  by  Moody  and 
Sankey  in  the  Centennial  year,  in  the  great  building  temporarily  pre- 
pared for  the  occasion.  There  were  eleven  thousand  seats  provided,— 
one  thousand  on  the  platfoi-ni  and  ten  thousand  by  number,  in  the 
vast  arena  below ;  all  occupied  and  many  persons  were  standing  in  the 
aisles  and  around  the  auditorium.  A  well-known  Minister  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  sat  by  my  side,  near  the  speaker,  while  before  us 
and  around  us  on  every  hand  a  sea  of  eager,  upturned  faces  and  stream- 
ing eyes  overflowing  with  tears  and  radiant  Avith  holy  and  earnest  in- 
terest, met  our  vision. 

As  the  beautiful  hymn  of  the  "Ninety  and  nine''  was  sung  by 
Brother  Sankey,  and  the  chorus  was  re-echoed  by  thousands  of  trem- 
bling voices,  my  friend  buried  his  face  in  his  hands  and  burst  into  tears. 

I  asked  him  why  he  wept.  "  I  shall  never  see  such  a  sight  as  this 
again  nor  hear  such  a  sound,"  said  he,  "  until  I  join  the  '  innumerable 
multitude '  around  the  throne  and  mingle  in  the  song  of  '  ten  thousand 
times  ten  thousand '  of  the  redeemed  in  glory."  T.  K. 


THE   EARLY    CHKISTIAX    CHURCH.  85 

we  have  seen,  singing  appears  to  have  only  had  such  place, 
as  a  spontaneous  and  natural  melody, — welling  up  as  it 
were  from  the  heart  of  the  worshipi)er,  and  overflowing 
in  artless  and  unstudied  cadence,  which  gradually  yielded 
to  the  introduction  of  more  artificial  music  as  the  centuries 
rolled  on. 

The  first  Church  singing  school  at  Rome  was  established 
by  Gregory  the  Great  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Sixth  Century, 
and  its  infiuence  soon  extended  into  England  and  other 
parts  of  the  West. 

Although  smaller  intruments  of  music  were  in  vogue  in 
his  time,  yet  the  Organ  was  not  introduced  into  public 
worship  until  the  Seventh  century,  in  the  Eastern  Churches ; 
and  was  brought,  in  the  Eighth,  from  Constantinople  to  the 
West. 

The  Emperor  Charlemagne,  we  read,  interested  himself 
greatly  in  the  improvement  of  church  music. 

Vocal  and  Instrumental  Music. 

It  is  this  growing  tendency  toward  elaborate  and  formal 

arrangement  in  its  public  services, — which  we  have  seen 

.*■  illustrated    in    the    progressive    history  of    the    Christian 

Church, — that  constitutes,  perhaps,  the  chief  danger  in  the 

question  we  are  considering. 

It  was  held  by  the  first  Christian  believers, — as  well  as 
by  many  earnest  Church  Reformers  since  their  day,  in  com- 
mon with  our  Early  Friends, — that  in  their  assemblies  for 
L)i\ine  worship,  the  introduction  of  regular  or  artistic  sing- 
ing, far  more  its  acccnnpaniment  by  any  instrumental  music, 


86  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

were  wholly    inadmissible;    being    inconsistent    witli    the 
spiritual  nature  of  the  New  Covenant  dispensation.* 

They  believed,  moreover,  that  it  was  lowering  our  concep- 
tion of  the  dignity  and  majesty  of  Almighty  God,  who 
created  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth  and  all  their  sublime 
harmonies,  to  imagine  that  He  could  be  honored  or  gratified 
by  any  poor  contrivances  and  feeble  inventions  of  His  crea- 
ture man;  or  that  mere  material  adjuncts  to  the  simple 
prayers  and  praises  of  His  people,  could  be  acceptable  to 
Him  who  "  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with  hands,"  but 
in  the  hearts  of  His  humble  believing  children,— and  who 
"  seeketh  such  to  worship  Him,  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

They  felt  assured  also  that  it  was  a  great  loss  to  the  con- 
gregation, thus  to  occupy  the  short  time  afforded  for  holy 
communion  with  our  Lord,  or  for  learning  His  blessed  truth 
immediately  or  instrumentally  from  Him,  by  the  intrusion 
of  any  mere  outward  performances;  which, however  gratify- 
ing to  the  natural  senses,  could  impart  no  Divine  virtue  or 

*  Lord  King  says  quaintly  {italics  and  cajntals  Ms): 
"As  for  Church  niusick,  for  Organs  and  the  Hke,  those  Primitive 
Ages  were  wholly  ignorant  of  them.  ...  All  that  they  looked  after 
was  to  .  .  .  offer  up  unto  God  the  Praises  of  their  Voices,  Lips  and 
Mouths:  which  Clement  Alexandrinus  thinks  was  emblematized  or 
shadowed  forth  by  those  Musical  Instruments  mentioned  in  the  150th  + 
Psalm,  where  sai'th  he;  'We  are  commanded  to  praise  God  on  the 
FsaUery,—t\\»X  is  on  the  Tongue,  because  the  Tongue  is  the  Psaltery 
of  the  Lord:  and  to  jyvaise  Him  on  the  Harp  by  ivhich  we  must  under- 
stand the  Mouth;  and  to  praise  Him  on  the  loud  sounding  cymbals, 
by  which  the  Lips  are  to  be  understood  as  the  voice  sounds  through  the 
knocking  together  of  the  Lipsr'—kPoed.  lib.  ii.,  p.  121.) 

Even  this  vocal  service  they  held  could  not  be  performed  acceptably 
without  a  Divine  qualification,  as  he  quotes  from  Origen :  (Z>e  Orat.  6, 

p.  7.) 

"Being  assisted  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Qod:  tcithout  whose  aid  it 
was  impossible  to  sing,  either  in  metre  or  harmony:'— {^ee  Primitive 
Church,  Lond.  Ed.,  1601,  part  ii.,  pp.  7-12.) 


THE   EARLY    CIIllISTIAN    CHURCH.  87 

knowledge  and  could  really  minister  to  no  spiritual  needs 
of  the  soul.  \ 

This  view  the  Society  of  Friends  has  always,  for  itself, 
consistently  and  steadfastly  maintained;  without  desiiing 
to  express  an  adverse  judgment  upon  the  sincere  views  or 
practices  of  other  branches  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

We  realize  that  these  may  be  faithfully  fulfilling  their 
apprehended  duty  and  their  own  useful  service  in  the 
world  in  this  and  other  ways ;  although  we  might  be  for- 
saking our  especial  calling  of  the  Lord,  and  our  privileges  of 
entire  spiritual  liberty  in  Him,  by  unavailingly  seeking  to 
imitate  them  therein. 

At  the  same  time,  while  thus  restrained  from  such  estab- 
lished devotional  exercises  in  our  own  regular  Meetings  for 
worship,  many  yet  feel  a  large  liberty  in  this  regard  while 
engaged  in  Union  Services,  or  in  such  general  mission  work 
as  they  may  be  called  to  undertake. 

Apart  from  all  these  considerations,  however,  is  that  of 
the  time  and  the  expense  required  to  attain  to  any  profici- 
ency in  musical  accomplishments,  whether  vocal  or  instru- 
mental. The  humble  consecrated  child  of  God  is  confronted 
with  the  questions, — "  Is  such  an  appropriation  most  honor- 
ing to  Him,  whose  I  am  and  whom  I  seek  to  serve  ? " 
"  Would  any  such  attainment  be  worth  what  it  is  sure  to 
cost;  "  and  "  w^ould  it  act  as  a  safeguard,  or  a  hindrance,  in 
my  life-long  encounter  w^ith  the  temptations  and  pleasures 
of  this  world,  which  I  have  renounced  for  His  dear  sake  ? " 

These  questions  no  one  can  answer  for  another ;  and  there 
A\'e  are  satisfied  to  leave  the  whole  subject. 


>^ 


/ 


f 


88  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

YocAL  Prayer. 

The  same  liberty  in  the  Spirit  prevailed  among  the  Early 
Christians  with  regard  to  vocal  Prayer,  in  their  assemblies 
for  public  Worship.  While  the  need  of  a  fresh  anointing 
for  such  service  as  for  all  others  was  clearly  recognized, — 
and  it  was  one  of  the  duties  of  the  "  Elders  "  to  maintain  a 
careful  oversight  in  this  regard  as  we  shall  presently  see, — 
yet  an  entire  freedom  was  permitted  by  the  Post- Apostolic 
Church  for  its  poorest  and  most  illiterate  member  to  exer- 
cise his  gift,  as  well  in  prayer  as  in  praise  to  God,  in  the 
congregations  of  the  people.* 

The  whole  life  of  a  Christian  in  those  days  seemed  to  be 
one  of  continued  prayer:  on  rising  in  the  morning  and  at  the 
noonday  meal,  in  the  evening  and  at  midnight,  vocal  peti- 
tions and  praises  ascended  to  his  God  and  Saviour,  who 
had  done  such  great  things  for  him. 

This  earthly  life  seemed  to  have  but  few  attractions  for 
those  who  had  willingly  forsaken  its  fleeting  allurements  for 
the  eternal  joys  of  the  life  to  come;  and  indeed  it  held  out 
•to  them  a  very  slight  assurance  of  any  permanence  of  their 


*  Pressensg  records  of  the  first  two  centuries  that  "  One  characteris- 
tic of  public  prayer  in  the  Church  was  its  hberty  •.  it  is  not  fettered  by 
any  set  forms.  Its  aspirations  may  rise  spontaneously,  and  the  words 
in  which  they  shall  be  expressed  are  not  pre-deterniined  by  any  fixed 
formula.  The  declaration  of  Justin  Martyr  (who  wrote  about  A.D. 
I.jO)  on  the  subject,  met  with  no  contradiction  in  the  following  century. 
...  So  great  was  the  respect  for  the  freedom  of  prayer  in  the  early 
T^  Church  that  even  the  use  of  the  Lord's  prayer  was  not  made  obligatory 
until  after  the  Second  Century;  and  it  was  not  till  the  Fourth  Century 
that  it  became  an  integral  part  of  worship.''— (Earli/  Years  of  Chris- 
tianity, pp.  391,  294.) 


THE   EARLY    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  89 

possessions,  or  even  of  their  own  personal  safety,  from  day 
to  day. 

They  could,  with  heartfelt  sincerity  and  fervor,  appeal  to 
the  Lord  as  the  Psalmist  had  done  more  than  a  thousand 
years  before: — "Whom  have  we  in  Heaven  save  Thee,  and 
there  is  none  upon  earth  that  we  desire  besides  Thee." 

On  every  side  they  were  environed  with  temx^tations  and  ^ 
snares,  and  surrounded  by  enemies  too  ready  to  entrap  and 
betray  them.  By  their  abstention  from  the  established 
forms  of  worship,  as  well  as  from  all  the  public  Heathen 
festivals,  and  by  their  refusal  to  contribute  to  the  support 
of  the  priesthood,  or  to  partake  in  any  way  in  the  various 
idolatrous  ceremonies  enforced  by  the  laws  of  the  Empire, 
they  naturally  incurred  the  displeasure  of  those  in  author- 
ity ;  and  they  had  to  encounter  also  the  bitter  hatred  of  the 
common  peoi^le,  who  were  persuaded  that  their  own  burdens 
were  thus  rendered  heavier  and  moreover  that  the  ven- 
geance of  the  gods  Avould  fall  upon  the  nation,  in  punish- 
ment of  so  general  a  neglect. 

Then  the  whole  corrupt  system  was  so  interwoven  with 
the  daily  eventualities  and  the  ordinary  business  of  life, 
that  it  was  impossible  to  avoid  a  continual  conflict  with  it. 
The  Christian  merchant  or  artisan,  for  example,  felt  con- 
strained to  decline  any  orders  connected  with  the  manufac- 
ture or  sale  of  all  varieties  of  idols  or  of  articles  used  in 
their  worship,  or  connected  with  the  brutal  festive  shows. 

The  very  forms  of  their  civil  law  were  so  interlaced  witli 
Heathen  oaths  and  an  enforced  recognition  of  various 
abuses,  that  all  avenues  of  professional  advancement  were  / 


90  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

closed  to  the  consistent  Church  member;  even  his  appear- 
ance on  the  witness-stand  involved  peril  to  his  liberty  and 
life.  The  lewd  and  extravagant  fashions  of  dress  and  of 
society  were  not  only  repulsive  but  were  absolutely  forbid- 
den to  the  humble  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Even 
the  Christian  slaves,  while  faithful  in  all  lawful  service, 
must  yet  refuse  to  obey  the  commands  of  their  absolute 
earthly  master  where  these  conflicted  with  the  doctrine  of 
their  God  and  Saviour,  which  they  were  exhorted  to 
"adorn."— (7^/^?^5,  ii.  10.) 
s^  Thus  as  it  were  by  the  very  pressure  of  the  atmosphere 

around  them,  they  were  driven  to  seek  refuge  in 

"  That  calm  and  sure  retreat, 
They  found  beneath  the  mercy-seat."     ' 

Here  they  poured  out  their  hearts  before  the  Lord,  in  private 
and  in  public  prayer.  Here  they  found  a  willing  and  pa- 
tient Listener  who  never  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  their  cries, — 
as  well  as  an  Almighty  Deliverer  in  every  time  of  trouble ; 
One  of  whom  they  had  been  told  that  "  in  all  their  aflliction 
He  was  afflicted  and  the  Angel  of  His  Presence  saved  them." 
Here  too  they  delighted  to  turn  from  the  flery  and  bloody 
^persecutions,  in  the  very  midst  of  which  their  lives  were 
spent, — from  the  sight  of  the  agonies  of  some  i^atient  sufferer 
ux)on  the  cross  or  at  the  flaming  stake  or  in  the  cruel  arena, 
— to  the  thought  of  that  happy  land  not  very  far  off,  where 
"  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  "  and  where  "  the  weary 
be  at  rest."  ..."  and  the  servant  is  free  from  his  master." 
.—{Job,m.n-19.) 

It  is  manifest  that  a  meeting  for  worship  under  such  cir- 


THE  EARLY   CillilSTIAN   CIIUKCII.  91 

cumstances,  was  no  place  for  rhetorical  display  or  mere 
ceremonial  utterances.* 

Tlie  grave  reality  of  their  situation  was  enough  of  itself     \ 
to  compel  a  simplicity  and  directness  of  expression  in  their 
invocations  for  Divine  support  and  deliverance. 

For  the  first  two  hundred  years  there  were  no  ];)rescribed 
forms  in  their  public  devotions:  even  the  Lord's  i)rayer, 
although  occasionally  made  use  of  as  the  Spirit  seemed  to 
lead,  was  not  recommended  to  be  regularly  used  until  the 
Third  century;  and  was  not  incorporated  into  a  liturgical 
observance  in  the  public  worship  of  the  Church  until  the 
Fourth.f 

The  liberty  which  prevailed  in  the  Early  Christian  Church 

*Arnobius,  -writing  in  the  early  part  of  the  third  century,  says: 
"  Stately  speech  and  the  learned  arrangement  of  words,  must  be  re- 
served for  those  who  delight  in  mere  verbal  display.  When  we  have  to 
do  with  grave  realities  there  is  no  scope  for  ostentation.  We  have  to 
think  of  the  subject  matter  before  us,  not  how  we  may  express  it  in 
the  most  agreeable  manner."  Pressens6  in  quoting  this  passage,  adds: 
"  These  rigid  rules  apply  especially  to  prayer.'"— {Earli/  Years  of  Chris- 
tianity^ vol.  ii.,  p.  289.) 

fOi-igen,  in  his  exposition  of  the  Lord's  prayer,  De  Orat.^  c.  22,  a.d. 
230,  thus  interprets  it : 

"  We  ought  not  to  think  that  a  mere  set  of  words  has  been  taught 
us,  which  we  are  to  repeat  at  certain  stated  seasons  of  prayer.  If 
we  duly  understand  what  was  said  in  regard  to  'praying  without  ceas- 
ing,'^ then  our  whole  life,  if  we  do  thus  pray  without  ceasing, — must  ex- 
press '  Our  Father  who  art  in  Heaven;''  such  a  life  having  its  conversa- 
tion not  on  earth  but  always  in  Heaven."  Thus  he  goes  on  to  apply, 
spiritually,  to  the  heart  and  life,  the  truths  unfolded  in  this  beautiful 
lesson  on  prayer  of  our  Lord  to  His  disciples;  which  they  often,  how- 
ever, felt  authorized  also  availingly  to  adopt  in  their  private  or  public 
devotions. 

Tertullian  takes  strong  ground  in  favor  of  its  regular  use  as  a  safe 
and  inspired  form  of  prayer,  which  cannot  safely  be  omitted  in  the 
public  worship  of  Christ's  church;  and  not  very  long  after  his  time  we 
find  that  it  was  gradually  incorporated  into  the  regular  ceremonies  then 
being  introduced. — T.  K. 


\ 


/ 


92  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

with  regard  to  vocal  prayer,  extended  from  the  very  neces- 
sities of  the  case,  especially  among  the  Gentile  churches, 
even  to  the  language  in  which  it  was  offered. 

"The  Hellenists,"  said  Origen,  writing  about  a.d.  210, 
"  use  the  Greek  in  their  prayers,  the  Romans  the  Latin : 
thus  each  prays  to  God  in  his  own  tongue  and  praises  Him 
according  to  his  ability, — and  the  Lord  of  all  kindreds  and 
tongues  hears  these  varied  utterances  as  if  they  were  the 
voice  of  but  one  soul  *  going  up  to  Him." 

We  read  that  in  the  Pentecostal  times,  "  the  dwellers  in 
Mesopotamia  and  in  Judea,  ...  in  Pontus  and  Asia,  .  .  . 
sojourners  from  Rome,  Cretans  and  Arabians,  heard  them 
every  man  speak  in  their  own  language." — (Acts,  ii.  8-11, 

R.  Y.) 

This  wonderful  effect  of  the  first  great  outpouring  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  the  assembled  Church,  must  not  however 
be  confused  with  the  option  permitted  in  the  after  years  of 
its  history,  to  members  of  different  nationalities  thus  to 
offer  up  public  vocal  petitions  in  their  own  familiar  lan- 
guage. 

The  miracle  as  recorded,  consisted  not  only  in  the  variety 
of  utterance  on  the  part  of  the  speaker,  but  also  in  a  power 
of  interpretation,  through  the  agency  of  the  Holy  SjDirif:, 

*  In  our  New  York  Meeting  of  Friends  we  have  occasionally  realized 
this  unity  and  yet  diversity  of  the  language  of  the  Spirit,  in  the  solemn 
vocal  prayers  in  their  native  tongue  of  some  Armenians  who  were  ac- 
credited to  us  by  the  Society  of  Friends  at  Constantinople;— and  who 
testified  afterward  through  an  interpreter,  that  they  had  enjoyed  a 
living  sense  of  the  Lord's  presence,  in  the  spoken  word ;  nor  did  their 
own  service  detract  from  the  sweet  harmony  of  the  occasion,  although 
scarcely  a  woi'd  spoken  on  either  side  was  understood  by  the  other. 

T.  K. 


THE   EARLY   CIIRISTIAl^   CHURCH.  93 

by  all  willing  hearers ;  who  were' endued  with  a  supernatural 
understanding  of  the  word  thus  spoken  under  His  special 
insjiiration. 

This  miraculous  gift  of  speech  moreover  did  not,  always 
at  least,  imply  a  knowledge  of  the  varied  dialects  repre- 
sented in  the  assembly; — but  rather  seemed  to  confer  a 
facility  of  utterance  in  some  new  and  unknown  tongue, — 
some  "  language  of  Canaan," — which  became  universally 
comprehensible  through  the  operation  of  the  same  Spirit : 
so  that,  as  the  sacred  narrative  records,  "  all  heard  them 
every  man  speak  in  their  own  language." 

The  "  Venerable  Bede,"  thus  beautifully  interprets  this 
passage,  in  his  notes  on  the  chapter  in  which  it  occurs, — 
"The  unity  of  language,  which  the  pride  of  Babel  had     7^ 
scattered,  the  humility  of  the  Church  recovers  (recolliget)."  * 

Blessings  of  Spiritual  Prayer. 

Although  no  very  marked  variations  are  apparent  in  the 
public  worship  of  the  Church  at  the  close  of  the  Second 
Century,  yet  secret  influences  had  been  steadily  at  work  to 


*  Pressens6  says : 

"  The  miracle  of  Pentecost  was  an  enacted  prophecy  of  the  happy 
time,  when  all  the  diversities  created  by  evil  would  be  lost  in  the  unity 
of  love.  .  .  .  The  ordinary  forms  of  speech  are  broken  througch.  A 
language  which  is  beyond  all  known  forms,  takes  the  place  of  ordinary 
words.  Thus  we  regard  those  '  unknown  tongues,'  of  which  mention  is 
made  in  the  First  Century." — (Apostolic  Era,  pp.  31,  32.) 

Neander  clearly  takes  the  same  view ;  and  adds  that  while  to  speak 
in  such  a  convertible  tongue  required  an  esjiecial  gift  of  the  Spirit,  yet 
His  aid  was  equally  needful  to  comprehend  it. 

"  This  new  tongue  of  the  Spirit  is  that  which  Christ  promised  to  His 
Disciples  as  one  of  the  essential  marks  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  their 
hearts." — (History  Planting  Christian  Churchy  vol.  i.,  p.  14.) 


94  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

bring  about  important  changes ;  and  some  deviations  from 
the  simplicity  and  purity  of  doctrine  and  practice  that 
characterized  the  Post- Apostolic  times,  had  actually  taken 

place. 

Tertullian,  at  about  this  period,  records  that  one  "  would 
seek  in  vain  for  Scriptural  or  Apostolic  authority  for  those 
changes  which  custom  and  tradition  sanctioned,"  in  his  day. 
Of  these  declensions,  some  of  which  he  appears  to  have  ap- 
proved, we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  at  another  time. 

In  treating  however  of  the  absolute  necessity  to  the 
Christian  life  of  earnest,  spiritual  prayer  and  of  the  bless- 
ing attending  its  simple  and  humble  performance,  his  testi- 
mony is  very  clear  and  satisfactory. 

In  his  celebrated  treatise  on  this  subject,  he  protests 
against  some  of  the  formalities  then  creeping  into  their 
Church  worship. 

"  What  advantage  is  there  in  entering  on  prayer  with  the 
hands  indeed  washed,  but  with  the  spirit  impure  ?  .  .  .  The 
hands  are  pure  enough,  when  we  have  once  washed  with  the 
whole  body  in  Christ.  .  .  .  This  is  the  true  cleanness,— not 
that  which  many  observe  superstitiously,  using  water  before 
every  jDrayer.  .  .  .  Such  things  are  to  be  set  down,  not  to 
religion  but  to  superstition,  being  affected  and  forced:  .  .  . 
and  are  certainly  to  be  restrained  because  they  put  us  on  a 
level  with  the  Gentiles." 

He  also  objects  to  the  practice  of  throwing  off  the  over- 
cloak  on  occasions  of  prayer,  as  a  "  heathenish  custom  per- 
formed before  commencing  their  idolatrous  devotions." 
"  The  Publican,"  he  adds,  "  who  not  only  in  his  prayer 


THE  EARLY   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  96 

but  in  liis  whole  appearance  was  humble  and  contrite,  went 
down  justified  rather  than  the  imiDudent  Pharisee.  God,  as 
He  is  the  beholder  so  also  is  the  hearer  not  only  of  the 
voice  but  of  the  heart.  .  .  .  They  are  the  true  worshippers, 
who,  praying  in  the  Spirit,  offer  the  worshijD  acceptable  to 
God.  .  .  .  for  what  has  God  denied  to  the  prayer  offered  up 
in  Spirit  and  in  truth.  .  .  .  Prayer,  in  ancient  times,  de- 
livered from  flames  and  wild  beasts  and  hunger.  .  .  .  How 
much  more  largely  does  the  Christian's  prayer  operate.  ..." 

Tertullian  closes  with  the  words, — "  AYliat  more  then  can 
I  say  concerning  the  duty  of  prayer  ?  Even  the  Lord  him- 
self has  prayed, — to  whom  be  honor  and  power  for  ever  and 
ever." 

Clement,  of  Alexandria,  at  the  close  of  the  Second  cen- 
tury or  very  early  in  the  Third,  thus  defines  prayer,  as  "  in- 
tercourse with  God: " 

"Although  we  do  but  lisp  or  though  we  address  God 
without  opening  our  lips,  in  silence,  we  cry  to  Him  in  the 
recesses  of  the  heart;  for  when  the  whole  direction  of  the 
soul  is  to  Him,  God  always  hears."  Again,  "  The  devout 
Christian  prays  in  every  situation,— in  his  walks  for  recrea- 
tion, in  his  intercourse  with  others,  in  silence,  in  reading, 
and  in  all  rational  pursuits.  And  although  he  is  only  think- 
ing on  God  in  the  little  chamber  of  the  soul,  and  calling 
upon  his  Father  in  silent  aspirations,  God  is  near  him  and 
with  him,  while  he  is  yet  speaking." 

Origen,  perhaps  a  few  years  later,  writes  of  the  secon- 
dary iini)ortance  of  all  outward  forms  in  prayer. 

"  Before  one  stretches  out  his  hands  to  Heaven  one  must 


96  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

lift  his  soul  upward ; — and  before  one  raises  up  his  eyes,  he 
must  lift  up  his  spirit  to  God.  And  since  the  bowing  of  the 
knees  is  spoken  of,  when  a  man  is  confessing  his  own  sins 
and  imj)loring  the  forgiveness  of  them,  he  should  remember 
that  this  posture  is  the  sign  of  a  bowed  down  and  humble 
spirit." 

He  adds  his  testimony  to  the  blessings  which  his  fellow- 
believers  had  received  through  prayer, — in  common  with 
those  of  all  ages  who  had  trusted  the  Lord: — 

"  How  much  has  each  one  among  us  to  say  of  the  effici- 
ency of  prayer,  when  we  w^ould  thankfully  record  the  bless- 
ings received  from  God.  Souls  which  had  long  lain  barren, 
have  been  rendered  fruitful  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  through 
persevering  prayer.  .  .  .  What  mighty  enemies,  aiming  at 
the  overthrow  of  our  Divine  faith,  have  been  time  and  again 
put  to  flight!  .  .  .  Our  confidence  was  in  these  words, — 
'  Some  trust  in  chariots  and  some  in  horses,  but  we  will  re- 
member the  name  of  the  Lord  our  God.'  " 

Cyprian  (a.d.  250)  confirms  these  views  of  the  purely 
spiritual  nature  of  true  prayer: — 

"God  hears  not  the  voice  but  the  heart.  He  who  dis- 
cerns the  thoughts  of  men  needs  not  to  be  reminded  of  their 
cry.  Thus  Hannah  presents  the  type  of  the  Church.  She 
supplicated  God,  not  with  noisy  prayer,  but  in  the  silent 
depths  of  her  heart.  Her  prayer  was  in  silence,  but  her 
faith  was  known  to  God." 
/  It  is  a  touching  comment  upon  this  notice  of  Cyprian, 
in  regard  to  the  efficacy  of  Hannah's  silent  devotions  which 
had  been  so  misunderstood  at  the  time  they  were  ofi'ered. 


THE  EARLY   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  97 

to  recall  the  joyous  song  of  thanksgiving  which  she  after- 
ward poured  forth,  in  the  same  place,  when  those  prayers 
liad  been  so  signally  answered ;  and  in  which,  for  the  first 
time  in  the  Sacred  Records,  we  find  mention  of  the  word 
Christ,  the  "  Anointed." 

To  complete  the  lesson,  we  read  that  years  afterward 
the  child  of  those  voiceless  and  sorrowful  petitions  was 
jnivileged  to  respond  audibly  to  the  clear  vocal  call  of  his 
mother's  God  and  Saviour  in  that  very  Temple, — "  Speak 
Lord,  for  Thy  servant  heareth."  Thus  memorably,  in  her 
case,  was  the  word  of  the  Lord  verified,  and  the  prayer 
which  she  uttered  in  secret  was  abundantly  answered  and 
her  silent  faith  was  "  rewarded  openly." 

Many  other  testimonials  might  be  given  from  the  Early 
Fathers  in  corroboration  of  those  already  quoted,  did  time 
and  space  permit.  The  same  limitations  preclude  any  ex- 
tended notice  of  the  various  attitudes  gradually  observed 
by  the  Eastern  and  Western  congregations,  in  their  public 
devotions; — the  "standing"  or  "kneeling,"  the  "closed 
eyes,"  the  "up-lifted,  out-spread  hands;"  as  well  as  the 
practice  which  at  length  so  generally  prevailed,  of  "  turn- 
ing toward  the  East "  when  engaged  in  prayer. 

What  has  seemed  to  be  most  worthy  of  record  is  the 
evident  sincerity  and  fervor  with  which  the  devotional  ex- 
ercises of  those  primitive  congregations  were  conducted 
and  the  perfect  liberty  and  simplicity  that  prevailed  among 
them,  in  regard  to  public  prayer,  until  after  the  close  of  the 
Second  century. 

It  was  not  till  more  than  a  hundred  years  later,  that  a 

7 


/ 


/- 


98  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

formal  liturgy  was  prepared  for  general  use ;  and  not  until 
A.D.  633,  at  the  Council  of  Toledo,  that  uniformity  of  wor- 
ship was  enforced  by  decree  and  spontaneous  prayer  en- 
tirely forbidden. 
*/  Within  a  very  few  years  there  has  been  discovered,  in  the 

Library  of  the  Monastery  of  the  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem  at 
Constantinople,  a  most  valuable  Manuscript  of  a  Prayer,  by 
Clement  of  Rome ; — originally  appended  to  his  "  First  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians "  (written  about  a.d,  96),  which  is  un- 
doubtedly genuine,  and  was  read  from  time  to  time  in  all 
the  Post- Apostolic  Churches. 

Our  consideration  of  "  Prayer  in  the  Early  Church," 
could  hardly  be  closed  more  fittingly  than  by  a  few  extracts 
from  this  beautiful  liturgy. 

"  Our  hope  is  in  Thy  Name,  Author  of  all  created  life : 
Thou  who  hast  opened  the  eyes  of  our  heart  to  know  Thee, 
the  only  Holy  One.  We  pray  thee,  0  Lord,  be  our  help 
and  stay. 

"  Save  those  of  us  who  are  in  affliction, — raise  the  fallen, 
— heal  the  sick, — bring  back  to  thyself  the  erring  ones  of 
Thy  people.  .  .  .  Feed  the  hungry.  .  .  .  Give  strength  to  the 
weak.  .  .  .  comfort  the  fearful  ones;  and  may  all  the  na- 
tions know  that  Thou  alone  art  God,  and  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  Thy  Son, — and  that  we  are  Thy  people  and  the  sheep  of 
Thy  fold.  .  .  .  God  of  all  pity  and  compassion,  forgive  our 
iniquity,  unrighteousness  and  sin.  Impute  not  their  tres- 
passes to  Thy  servants  and  hand-maidens,  but  purify  us  by 
Thy  truth.  .  .  .  Make  us  walk  in  tenderness  of  heart,  and 
to  be  fruitful  in  all  good  works,  as  under  Thine  eye,  .  .  . 


CHURCH   ORGANIZATION.  99 

"  Thon  alone  canst  grant  us  these  and  all  other  blessings. 
We  praise  Thee  by  Jesus  Christ,  our  High  Priest,  ...  by 
whom  be  glory  and  majesty  unto  Thee,  world  without  end, 
Amen."* 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION". 
"  Elders  "  or  "  Bishops,"  (Overseers),  and  "  Deacons." 

We  come  now  to  the  question  of  Church  organization, 
and  of  its  appointed  or  elective  authorities ;  after  which  will 
follow  a  brief  but  most  important  consideration  of  those 
varied  spiritual  gifts,  and  of  that  Divinely  ordained  Min- 
istry of  the  word,  which  nourished  the  flock  and  sustained 
the  outward  existence  of  the  Early  Christian  Associations. 

It  will  be  found  that  while  the  Post- Apostolic  Church 
officially  recognized  and  carefully  watched  over  these  sacred 
gifts,  yet  it  did  not  claim  the  power  to  confer  them,  nor  the 
right  to  interfere  with  their  regular  and  orderly  exercise. 

Even  the  Apostles  themselves  made  no  such  claim  and 
exercised  no  such  authority.  Although  directly  commis- 
sioned by  our  Lord  and  Saviour  to  gather  and  to  establish  His 
church  on  earth,  and  especially  "  endued  "  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
with  "  power  from  on  High  "  for  this  very  purpose,  yet  they 
clearly  apprehended  His  will  to  be  that  even  during  their 

*  For  the  whole  of  this  remarkable  prayer,  see  the  reprint  of  Hilgen- 
feeld's  Edition,  ClemeiUis  Romani  Epistola\  appended  to  4th  volume 
Pressens6's  Early  Years  of  Christianity,  pp.  525-528. 

Although  often  adopted,  under  special  apprehension  of  duty,  by  the 
congregations  in  those  early  days,  it  was  by  no  means  regularly  used 
as  a  liturgy  by  them. 


100  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

lifetime  and  with  all  the  advantage  of  their  wisdom  and 
cooperation,  the  Body  of  Believers  should  -act  under  His 
own  direct  guidance,— both  in  their  public  worship  and  in 
their  Church  organization.* 

Yet  they  also  recognized  the  necessity  of  order  and  of 
sound  judgment  in  the  discharge  of  these  duties;  and  even 
for  the  elective  offices  of  the  Church  they  often  presented 
chosen  names  for  ratification  by  the  people. 

Accordingly  we  find  (Acts,  vi.  1)  that  they  advised  the  ap- 
pointment by  the  Church  of  earnest  and  holy  men  who 
should  have  more  especial  charge  of  its  charities  toward 
the  poor  and  sick.  These  were  termed  "  Deacons  "  (Scaxdvoi); 
but  their  acceptance  of  that  office  did  not  preclude  the 
exercise  of  any  other  gift  which  the  Lord  might  confer 
upon  them ;  as  we  see  {Acts,  vi.  8)  in  the  case  of  Stephen, 
the  first  Martyr  of  the  Church,  and  of  Philip  the  Evangelist 
{Acts,  viii.  12),  both  of  whom  were  among  those  appointed 
on  that  occasion  and  who  were  also  eminent  as  preachers  of 
the  word,  with  great  power  and  success. 

The  members  of  this  governing  Council  of  the  Church  in 
all  spiritual  matters,  called  Elders  {7rps<7,%Tipoi)^  after  the 
example  of  the  Jewish  synagogue,  were  selected  carefully 


,  *  Neander  says — "  The  Apostles  wished  in  accordance  with  the  spirit 

r  of  Christianity  not  to  govern  alone ;  but  preferred  that  the  Body  of 
Believers  should  govern  themselves,  under  their  guidance.  Thus  they 
divided  the  government  of  the  Church,  .  .  .  with  tried  men,  who 
formed  a  presiding  council  of  "  Elders,"  similar  to  that  which  was  known 
in  the  Jewish  synagogues  under  the  title  of  "Pre*&?t^ero/."  But  with 
Hellenic  Gentiles,  another  name  was  joined,  more  allied  to  the  desig- 
nation of  civil  and  social  relations  among  the  Greeks, — "  Episcopoi,'''' 
which  designated  Overseers  over  the  whole  Church,  and  its  collective 
concerns. — ^History  Planting  Christian  Church,  vol.  i.,  pp.  35,  143.) 


CHURCH   ORGANIZATION.  101 

by  tlie  Apostles  and  their  successors;  tlie  appointment 
being  however  confirmed  by  the  general  approval  of  the 
Church. 

Among  the  Gentile  churches  these  Elders  were  denomi- 
nated i-itrxorrot  that  is  overseers  (from  '-^  over,  and  axuTzio  to 
look) ;  both  the  office  and  the  title  being  familiar  to  Gentile 
Christians,  in  their  social  and  civil  organizations,  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans. 

Afterwards  "J5^.>/5coj!3-os"  became  gradually  coiTupted,' 
by  dropj)ing  the  initial  "  e,"  first  to  the  Saxon  "  hiscop,^'' 
and  then  to  the  softened  English  "  MsTiopP* 

As  with  the  "  Deacons,"  this  executive  appointment  did 
not  interfere  with  the  exercise  of  their  other  spiritual  gifts 
and  callings  by  those  who  accepted  it. 

They  were  not  all  Teachers,  or  Preachers  of  the  Word ; 
although  we  read  that  such  were  to  be  held  in  especial 
honor  (1  Tim.  v.  17) ;  and  it  was  considered  a  prerequisite 
to  such  appointment,  that  the  candidate  should  be  "  apt 
{or  fitted)  to  teachy     (iii.  2.) 

In  some  way,  however,  they  were  to  "  feed  the  Church  of 
God ;  "  whether  by  a  quiet,  loving  oversight  of  its  interests, 
by  a  direct  service  in  preaching  the  Gospel  and  in  vocal 
j)rayer,  or  by  maintaining  a  watchful  care  over  the  ministry 
of  others  and  over  the  general  exeicises  of  their  public  wor- 
ship, as  referred  to  below,  as  well  as  by  the  administration 
of  the  Church  discipline. 

The  Apostles  accounted  themselves  among  the  "  Elders  of 

*  Dr.  Hatch,  in  his  Bampton  Lectures  for  1880,  gives  a  full  account 
of  these  precedents. 


Sv 


102  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

the  Church  "  (1  Peter,  v.  i.).  Again  some  Elders  were  Pro- 
phets,— some  Evangelists, — some  Pastors  and  Teachers; 
— whose  varied  duties  we  shall  presently  have  occasion  to 
pass  in  review.  Then  there  were  always  those  among  the 
Elders  who  possessed  an  especial  gift  of  discernment,  in  re- 
regard  to  the  ^a/K^/zara,  or  Spiritual  endowments  then  so 
generally  claimed ;  and  to  these  were  referred  all  questions 
as  to  the  validity  of  such  claims,  or  the  edifying  nature  of 
such  j)ublic  communications  in  their  church  worship ;  with 
official  authority  to  restrain  or  to  encourage  them."  Even 
"  the  spirits  of  the  prophets  were  subject  to  the  prophets." 
—(1  Cor.  xiv.  32.) 

At  first  these  terms  (npeff^uripot,  kruaT^onoi)^  as  well  as  the 
offices  which  they  represented,  were  identical ;  and  an  entire 
equality  of  rank  and  authority  appears  to  have  existed 
among  all  the  members  of  the  Council  in  each  Church. 

Gradually,  however,  as  the  Apostles  passed  away  from 
the  general  advisory  guidance  of  the  churches,  and  their 
interests  so  greatly  widened,  there  arose,  partly  from  the 
very  necessities  of  the  case,  in  the  greater  pressure  of  duties, 

*  The  official  duty  of  the  "  Presbyter"  was  in  general  to  "  feed  the 
flock."  .  .  .  There  were  "Presbyters"  who  had  no  connection  with 
a  particular  church,  but  who  employed  their  gift  of  teaching  in 
planting  new  churches  among  the  Heathen.  These  missionary  Presby- 
ters were  denominated  Evangelists." — {See  Guericke^s  Church  History^ 
p.  117.) 

Mosheim  records  of  these  gifts  of  a  certain  si^iritual  discernment : 
"Whoever  professed  Divine  inspiration  had  permission  to  speak; 
for  without  hearing,  it  was  impossible  to  say  whether  his  claims  were 
well  founded  or  not.  When  once  he  had  spoken,  however,  all  uncer- 
tainty was  at  an  end, — for  there  were  in  the  churches  persons  in- 
structed of  God,  Avho  could  discern  by  infallible  signs  between  a  true 
prophet  and  one  who  falsely  assumed  that  character." — {Early  Chris- 
tian Churchy  vol.  i.,  p.  232.) 


CHURCH   ORGANIZATION.  103 

and  partly  thro iigli  the  Jewish  precedent  of  a  ''■primus  inter 
pares^''  a  sort  of  precedence  out  of  their  original  equality, 
which  was  generally  acknowledged ;  and  the  ablest  and  most 
influential  of  these  counsellors  passed  naturally  to  the  front. 
Doubtless  in  many  cases  this  change  took  place  without  any 
personal  ambition  on  the  part  of  the  individual  so  advanced, 
or  any  design  on  the  part  of  the  Church  authorities  to  change 
the  A2:)Ostolic  practice.* 

That  the  titles  were  interchangeable  in  the  days  of  the 
Apostles,  the  Sacred  Records  clearly  show  {e.g.^  Acts,  xx. 
17,  28,  and  Titus,  i.  5,  7,  9) ;  the  same  parties  being  spoken  of 
as  Elders,  and  Bishops  or  Overseers. 

Moreover  any  action  of  the  council  of  "  Elders,"  is  always 

*  In  addition  to  the  authority  of  Mosheim,  Neander  and  Pressens^, 
with  that  of  other  approved  Historians, — the  reader  is  referred  to  Bishop 
Lightfoot's  "  Comme7itaries  on  the  Epistles,''''  Dr.  Hatch's  treatise  on 
the  "Organization  of  the  Early  Christian  Churches;''''  and  to  the  still 
more  recent  essays  in  the  "  London  Expositor"  for  1887,  en  the  "Origin 
of  the  Christian  Ministry,''''  for  abundant  confirmation  of  these  state- 
ments. 

These  are  written  by  members  of  various  Christian  denominations, 
and  divergent  schools  of  thought;  but  however  differing  on  other 
matters,  they  all  agree  as  to  this  origmal  identity  of  -rrpealivTipot  and 
kniamnoi, — both  as  to  title  and  office. 

For  the  sake  of  brevity,  these  are  only  referred  to  here ;  but  the  fol- 
lowing passages  quoted  by  Professor  Guerieke,  seem  so  important  to 
the  scholarly  reader,  that  they  are  given  in  the  original.     He  says : 

"  That  these  names  were  originally  in  all  essential  respects  equiva- 
lent, results  clearly  enough  from  passages  of  the  New  Testament  where 
the  two  terms  are  interchanged,  or  used  indifferently,"  and  adds,  "  St. 
Jerome  {Com.  on  Titus,  i.  7.),  thus  confirms  this  view:  (a.d.  390.) 
"  Idem  est  ergo  Presbyter  qui  Episcopus;  et  antequam  diaboliinstinctu, 
stadia  in  religionejierent,  .  .  .  communi  presbytero nun  cons ilio 
Ecclesia-  gubernabantur.''^  His  contemporary,  Chrysostom,  also  testi-  \ 
fies  to  the  identity  of  these  names  in  the  earlier  days.  "W-oi/ro;  fitdg  ' 
TTo^fwf  m)??.(H  tniaKOTToi  ijaav  ;  oMafjuq  a7.7a  tovq   TTf)ea(ivTqmvq  ovrug  kKd}eae  tote  i 

ydf)  TtuQ  'moLvuvow  To'iq  ovofiaaiv.^''— {Antiquities  Christian  Church,  pp.  23,        \ 
284,  285.) 


\ 


\ 


104  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

the  result  of  a  deliberate  consideration  and  conclusion  of  the 
whole  Body,  even  though  it  might  be  officially  announced 
by  one  of  their  number  {e.g.^  Acts,  xv.  6,  22-29). 

Thus  simple  and  natural  was  the  origin  of  these  inter- 
changeable terms,  and  identical  offices  of  "  Presbyter  "  and 
"  Bisho]3S,"  which  afterward  became  so  divergent  in  their 
meaning  and  so  important  in  the  results  of  their  practical 
discrimination. 

In  the  earliest  days  of  the  Church  the  fulfilment  of  the 
assurance  of  its  Lord,  "  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  to- 
gether in  My  Name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them,"  {Matt. 
xviii.  20),  was  clearly  recognized  as  an  enduement  of  His 
authority  and  life:  and  so  the  saying  became  proverbial 
among  them,  "  Ubi  CJiristus,  ibi  Ecclesia: "  where  Christ 
is,  there  is  the  Church.'*  As  the  organization  became  more 
complicated  it  would  seem  that  the  necessity  of  a  special 
presiding  Elder,  or  "  Bishop,"  was  so  generally  felt  that 
this  theory  practically  found  expression  in  the  words,  "  TJbi 
Ecclesia,  ibi  Episcopus,^''— where  there  is  a  church  there 
must  needs  be  a  bishop. 

Finally,  with  the  increase  of  its  prosperity  and  power  the 
Church,  ignoring  the  simplicity  and  spirituality  of  its  earlier 
organization,  adopted  the  widely  altered  motto,  "  Ubi  Ejns- 
copus,  ibi  Ecclesia,^''  where  there  is  a  Bishop  there  only 
is  a  Church. 

Strange  as  this  revolution  in  its  whole  polity  may  seem  to 
us,  as  we  now  look  back  upon  it,  it  is  more  wonderful  to 

*  Ignatius  thus  renders  it  in  one  of  his  Epistles  •  oirov  av  f/  Xptardc 
IrjaovQ  eKd  ?)  Ka6o?uK?)  EKKkeala,  "  Wherevei'  Christ  Jesus  is,  there  is  the  uni- 
versal Church:'  T.  K. 


CHURCH   ORGANIZATION.  lOo 

witness  that  with  the  advance  of  the  centuries,  this  total 
change  in  its  organic  life  intensified  and  widened ;  so  that 
in  our  day  it  has  measurably  spread  over  the  whole  body 
and  included  among  its  advocates  more  than  three-fourths 
of  professing  Christendom. 

The  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Greek  Churches,  the  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Great  Britain  as  well  as  of  America,  the 
Moravian  Church  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  of 
the  United  States  and  over  the  world,  all  seem  to  consider 
the  appointment  of  a  Bishop  as  essential  to  the  well  being, 
if  not  to  the  existence  of  a  church:  and  the  three  first- 
named  organizations  recognize  only  as  Churches^  those 
bodies  so  constituted. 

Meanwhile  a  large  and  powerful  Community  has  grown 
up  in  all  Protestant  countries  since  the  Reformation,  which 
adopted  at  its  rise  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government, 
and  in  English-speaking  lands  is  especially  so  denomi- 
nated ;  which  may  insist  too  rigidly  upon  the  authenticity 
and  the  importance  of  its  peculiar  organization  and  its 
forms  of  i^ublic  worship,  as  those  of  the  Apostolic  Church. 

Neither  of  these  absolute  claims  seems  to  be  justified  by 
the  evidence  of  historical  research ;  *  and  the  consensus  of        vS-^  /V" 


*  Professor  Adolph  Harnack,  while  peculiar  in  his  views  of  some 
minor  details,  thus  gives  forcible  expression  to  the  general  judgment 
on  this  subject. 

"  The  theory,"  says  he,  "  that  the  Bishops  appointed  by  the  Apostles 
are  successors  of  the  Apostles,  and  in  charge  of  the  Apostolic  office,       jyi 
is  first  found   in   Irenseus.  .  .  .  This  chronological  review  will  show,  "^  -^  ' 
more  convincingly  than    many  words    could  do,   that  the  Episcopal    ^/^ /'^.^^^  < 
theory  is  not  correct:  but  also  the  assuinptio)t  is  lorong,  that  t?ie  E<<-le-  '^^^^^ 

siastical  constitution  has  been  developed  out  of  an  original  Presby-       (^:C*..«__<^ 
terian  constitution.     The  development  has  been  very  complicated,  be-     ^ 


^^-^* 


106  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

modern  scholarship  now  leads  the  sincere  inquirer,  as  to  the 
doctrine  and  practice  of  the  hrst  Christian  Believers  in  the 
earlier  and  better  days  of  their  history,  back  to  their  origi- 
nal motto,  without  any  other  condition  or  restriction,  "  UM 
Christies,  ihi  Ecclesiar 


OFFICIAL  APPOINTMENTS. 

EATIFICATIOISr    OF   NOMINATIONS. 

Before  passing  from  this  brief  consideration  of  the  more 
properly  elective  offices  of  the  Early  Christian  Church,  it  is 
important  to  notice  that  the  nomination  of  candidates  for 
these  positions,  even  by  the  first  Apostles  or  their  immedi- 
ate successors,  always  required  for  its  ratification  an  ai^prov 
ing  vote  of  the  people,  before  a  final  appointment. 

The  old  Roman  maxim  ''Vox populi,  vox  Dei^'  was  thus 
reverently  construed  and  acted  upon;  with  undoubting 
confidence  that  as  the  Lord's  guidance  was  earnestly  and 
prayerfully  sought  by  the  congregation  on  these  occasions, 
He  would  not  fail  to  grant  the  especial  wisdom  needful  for 
a  right  decision ;  and  that  the  conclusions  so  arrived  at  by 
His  Church,  as  well  as  the  oflicers  so  chosen,  were  assuredly 
invested  with  His  own  Divine  authority.* 

cause  the  Churches  were  not  merely  rehgious  sects,— but  also  social 
bodies,  in  the  most  comprehensive  sense  of  the  word."  London  (Ex- 
positor, May,  1887). 

*  Robert  Barclay  and  the  Early  Friends  took  the  same  high  ground, 
and  clahned  that  a  Divine  authority  had  been  vouchsafed  to  the  true 
Church  of  Christ  in  all  generations  ;  and  was  realized  in  their  day,  as  a 
living  experience. 

Mosheim  thus  records  the  general  testimony  of  Christian  Historians 


OFFICIAL    APPOIXTMENTS.  107 

The  Early  Christian  Cliurcli  might  in  fact  be  designated  as 
a  Theo-clemocracy:  the  Lord  as  the  one  Head  of  the  Body, 
and  all  its  members  equal  before  Him. 

This  sense  of  the  popular  judgment  was  frequently  ar- 
rived at  by  a  "  shoio  of  liancls  "  {-/^'.fxiro^ta,  as  in  2  Cor.  viii.  19), 
a  free  and  simi^le  mode  of  suffrage,  which  was  often  '^ 
afterward  confounded  with  the  "  imposition  of  Jiands^'' 
{i-aH(7EU)i;  ru)v  yjtixhv,  as  iu  1  Tim.  iv.  14),  a  more  formal  cere- 
mony occasionally  made  use  of  by  the  Apostles,  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  their  miraculous  power  of  conferring  an  especial 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  sincere  believers,  or  by  the 
Elders,  for  some  esj^ecial  service,  as  in  1  Tim.  iv.  14,  by  the 
"laying  on  of  hands."  This  gradually  degenerated  into 
a  regular  accompaniment  of  Episco^Dal  or  priestly  ordina- 
tion, in  the  days  of  the  Church's  declension.* 

and  Commentators,  as  to  the  reserved  rights  of  the  people  in  all  ap- 
pointments, even  long  after  Apostolic  times: 

"  This  power  of  appointing  their  elders  continued  to  be  exercised  by 
the  members  of  the  Church  at  large,  so  long  as  primitive  manners  were 
retained  entire;  and  those  who  ruled  over  the  Church  did  not  conceive 
themselves  at  liberty  to  introduce  any  deviation  from  the  Apostolic 
model.  .  •  . 

"  When  at  any  time  the  state  of  the  Church  required  that  a  new 
Presbyter  should  be  appointed,  the  collective  body  of  Elders  recom- 
.  mended  to  the  assembly  of  the  people,  one  or  more  persons.  ...  as 
fit  to  fill  that  office.  To  this  recommendation  the  people  were  con- 
strained to  pay  no  further  respect  than  it  might  appear  to  them  to 
deserve.  Indeed,  it  is  placed  beyond  a  doubt  that  they  were  accus- 
tomed, not  unfrequently,  to  assert  the  right  of  judging  Avholly  for 
themselves ;  and  to  require  that  this  or  that  particular  person,  whom 
they  held  in  higher  esteem  than  the  rest,  should  be  advanced  to  the 
office  of  an  Elder.  When  the  voice  of  the  multitude,  in  the  election  of 
any  one  to  the  sacred  ministry,  was  unanimous,  it  was  considered  in 
the  light  of  a  Divine  call." — "  {Commentaries  on  the  Earlij  Vhristian 
Church,  pp.  219-221.) 

*  See  note  on  this  subject,  page  129,  "  Hatch's  Bamj^ton  Lectures,'''' 
1880,  Lond.  Ed. 

Pressens6  thus  speaks  of  the  original  simple  purpose  even  of  "  the 


lOS  IIISTOmCAL   ESSAYS. 

The  single  exception  recorded  under  the  New  Covenant 
dispensation,  if  indeed  it  be  an  exception,  to  this  general 
exercise  of  an  intelligent  discretion  in  the  choice  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Church,  is  noted  in  the  history  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,  on  the  occasion  of  their  filling  a  vacancy  in 
their  ranks  caused  by  the  sad  death  of  Judas  Iscariot. 

We  read  (chap.  i.  15-26),  in  all  our  English  translations, 
that  his  successor  was  chosen  "  by  lot;'— after  earnest  prayer 
for  the  Lord's  direction  in  casting  it.  The  Greek  word  here 
used  (x;./>«9,)  is  rendered  with  equal  correctness,  a  ballot;  and 
some  German  commentators  are  clear  in  their  judgment 
that  this  is  the  true  construction  of  the  word  in  this  place, 
{^d&xay  xkr^pou?."^)  Cauou  Cook,  in  his  note  on  this  passage  in- 
the  "  Speaker's  Commentary,"  takes  the  ground  that  this  in- 
termediate action,  between  the  old  Jewish  practice  of  "  cast- 
m^r  lots  "  and  the  liberty  of  the  Christian  Church  after  the 


laying-  on  of  hands : "  "  The  laying  on  of  hands,  which  was  conferred 
on  the  Deacons,  Elders  and  Evangelists,  had  not  at  all  the  character 
of  'ordination.'  It  was  not  used  exclusively  for  the  investiture  of 
office  in  the  Church.  .  .  .  'The  laying  on  of  hands'  was  regarded 
as  a  solemn  benediction ;  coincidently  with  it  there  was  sometimes  the 
coummnication  of  the  spiritual  gifts  peculiar  to  the  Apostolic  age.  .  .  . 
It  was  always  accompanied  with  prayer.  Augustine  says,  '  "What  is 
the  laying  on  of  hands,  if  not  praying  over  a  man.'  Prayer  was  then 
the  essential  act.  Prayer  cannot  in  any  point  of  view,  be  regarded  as 
a  clerical  act.  It  was  tlie  expression  of  the  Christian  feeling  of  the 
whole  assembly;  and  had  no  sacerdotal  character."— (JSJarZ^/  Years 
Christianity.— Apostolic  Era,  p.  358.) 

*  Mosheim  is  very  decided  in  this  opinion.  He  says : 
"  I  think  this  interpretation,  ('  lots')  is  entirely  repugnant  to  the  Greek 
idiom ;  for  whenever  the  '  casting  of  lots,'  is  spoken  of  by  Greek  writers, 
we  certainly  find  the  word  ^oIIelv,  {to  cast)  joined  with  «;?/;pof."  He 
believes  "  that  by  these  words  of  St.  Luke  we  should  understand  simply 
a  suffrage : "  and  that  what  he  meant  to  say  was  '  those  present  cast 
their  votes.' ""—{Early  Christian  Church,  p.  137.) 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  109 

outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  would  naturally  follow  the 
former. 

However  this  may  be,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  we  hear 
no  more  of  the  one  so  chosen,  3fatthias,  in  the  great  work 
thereafter  accomplished  by  the  Apostles  and  their  asso- 
ciates; while  the  chosen  Ambassador  of  Christ  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, not  long  afterward  received  his  commission  directly 
from  the  Lord — a  fact  which  he  esteemed  of  especial  im- 
portance {Galatians,  i.  1,  R.  V.). 

APOSTLES. 

Coming  now  to  the  review  of  those  important  offices  of 
the  ministry  of  the  word,  in  regard  to  which  it  was  recog- 
nized by  common  consent  that  no  right  of  appointment,  nor 
even  privilege  of  nomination,  could  be  claimed  or  exercised 
by  the  Church  of  Christ,  at  least  in  Apostolic  or  Post- 
apostolic  times,  we  are  hapi)ily  at  no  loss  for  authentic 
information.  The  Apostle  Paul  in  his  first  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians  (xii.  28,  R.  V.),  thus  unfolds  to  us  the  one  true 
source  of  authority  for  their  general  commission,  as  well  as 
of  their  power  for  its  exercise : 

"  God  hath  set  some  in  the  Church, — first.  Apostles,  sec- 
ondly. Prophets,  thirdly.  Teachers,  etc." 

To  the  Ephesians  (iv.  8,  R.  V.)  he  testifies  in  like  manner 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ: 

"  When  He  ascended  on  high  He  gave  gifts  to  men.  .  .  . 
And  He  gave  some  to  be  Apostles  and  some  Prophets,  and 
some  Evangelists,  and  some  Pastors  and  Teachers,  etc." 
(The  Psalm  here  quoted,  states  that  He  ^'received  gifts  for 


110  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

^eqi " — (Ixviii.  18,  A.  v.).    The  Apostle  further  reveals  to  the 
X       Corinthians  the  direct  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  be- 
stowal, as  well  as  in  the  active  exercise  of  these  gifts : 

"All  these  worketh  one  and  the  same  Spirit, — dividing  to 
each  one  severally,  even  as  He  will "  (1  Co7\  xii.  11,  R.  V.). 
We  are  also  divinely  instructed  as  to  the  liberty  in  the 
Spirit,  which  then  existed  in  His  Church,  for  the  free  exer- 
cise of  those  gifts,  which  He  had  Himself  so  freely  bestowed. 
In  the  opening  essay,  on  Worship  and  the  Ministry,  (see 
pages  28  to  33,  ante,)  mention  has  been  made  in  some  detail 
of  the  practical  operation  of  this  liberty  in  gospel  service 
and  in  the  public  worship  of  the  Church,  as  portrayed  in 
the  Sacred  Records,  and  it  is  therefore  needless  to  do 
more  at  this  time  than  refer  the  reader  to  those  pas- 
sages, in  order  to  revive  his  apprehension  of  the  Apostolic 
doctrine  and  practice,  in  these  respects. 

Passing  on  to  subsequent  ei)ochs  of  history,  it  will  be 
remembered  (as  Professor  Salmon  stated  in  an  essay  on  the 
"  Origin  of  the  Christian  Ministry ^^  from  which  we  have 
already  quoted), — that  the  records  of  the  Church  seem  to 
^  pass,  as  it  were,  through  a  long  and  dimly-lighted  tunnel, 
/  during  the  hundred  years  immediately  following  the  period 
alluded  to,  and  just  preceding  that  era  so  well  known  to 
us  through  the  writings  of  the  Early  Fathers,  about  the 
close  of  the  second  century,  a.d.,  and  thereafter. 

To  quote  substantially  his  vivid  simile,  a  clear  light  is 
shed  at  the  further  end  of  this  tunnel,  upon  its  various 
moving  figures,  by  a  direct  illumination  from  the  inspired 
writings.     At  the  same  time  a  very  fair  though  glimmering 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  Ill 

light,  is  reflected  backward  upon  that  shadowy  space,  from 
the  nearer  end  of  the  tunnel,  through  the  bright  personal 
testimonies  and  the  largely  trustworthy  historical  records 
of  the  Patristic  writers,  about  the  Third  and  Fourth  cen- 
turies. 

If  then,  in  the  intermediate  twilight^  we  find  that  the 
same  identical  forms  and  events  are  steadily  revealed  to  our 
view,  though  with  a  varied  distinctness,  we  may  regard 
them  as  having  undoubtedly  existed,  and  may  really  ar- 
rive at  a  tolerably  just  and  satisfactory  estimate  of  their 
true  character  and  of  the  important  influences  which  they 
exerted  on  the  intermediate  and  after  life  of  the  Church. 

Applying  this  principle  to  the  questions  under  consider- 
ation, we  are  almost  inclined  to  wonder  at  the  long  pro- 
tracted ignorance,  or  at  best  the  very  imperfect  knowledge 
that  has  apparently  prevailed  throughout  the  Christian 
Church,  in  regard  to  the  simplicity  of  the  character  and 
the  freedom  of  the  calling  of  the  first  Ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel; as  w^ell  as  of  their  public  services,  especially  in  the 
congregations  for  Divine  worship.  Indeed  these  questions 
seem  to  be  very  imi)erfectly  understood  even  in  our  own 
day. 

Such  a  wondering  inquiry  as  the  following,  from  so 
learned  a  man  as  Dr.  Sanday,  would  almost  seem  to  be  in- 
tended as  a  travesty  on  the  narrow  views  of  some  English 
High  Churchmen;  and  yet  it  is  evidently  sincere,  and  is 
found  in  an  interesting  and  able  article  from  his  pen,  in  a 
late  number  of  the  London  Expositor. 

"  What  are  those  mysterious  figures  of  '■Apostles,'  '  Pro- 


112  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

pliets '  and  '  Teachers,''  who  llit  here  and  there  across  the 
stage,  but  stay  nowhere  long  enough  to  be  interrogated?" 
With  a  sort  of  half -doubting  conviction,  he  goes  on  to  say, 
— "  Clearly  they  are  not  the  unsubstantial  for  iiis  that  they 
are  apt  to  appear  to  us.  They  must  have  had  some  defi- 
nite functions ;  but  except  for  the  details  in  these  precious 
chapters  (1  Gor.  xii.,  xiv.,)  we  should  have  had  but  little 
idea  of  what  these  functions  were."  Then,  with  a  growing 
courage,  re-inforced  by  recent  corroborative  evidence,  he 
ventures  to  answer  his  own  query : 

"  The  Didachel^''  says  he,  "  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the  same 
figures.  .  .  .  We  see  them  moving  about  the  Church  of 
Christ, — highly  honored  wherever  they  went — pledged  to 
poverty, — and  taking  nothing  away  from  the  Churches 
which  they  visit ;  .  .  .  preaching  the  word  and  conducting 
the  Sunday  services."  .  .  . 

"  The  Didache  makes  it  clear  that  wherever  he  was  pres- 
ent, the  '  Prophet '  took  the  lead  in  such  services.  He  has 
indeed  a  special  privilege  in  connection  with  them,  which  he 
does  not  share  with  any  one  else.  He  alone  is  allowed  un- 
tranimeled  use  of  extempore  prayer"  {Expositor,  P.  107, 
108,  February,  1887). 

Dr.  Harnack,  (now  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  in 
the  University  of  Berlin),  fettered  by  no  restrictions  of 
education  or  position,  thus  clearly  states  the  whole  case  of 
these  Ministers  in  his  edition  of  the  ''Didache  :  " 

''Apostles,  Prophets,  and  Teachers,  received  the  gift 
which  they  exercised,  hy  direct  supernatural  endowment. 
They  were  appointed  by  God,  not  hy  man.    They  were  not 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  113 

nominated  to  any  one  locality,  but  wandered  to  and  fro,  as 
they  would,  in  the  Church  at  large.     Woi'ds  signifying      ^ 
election,  or  appointment,  loere  not  used  of  themr 

At  the  time  when  they  were  engaged  in  these  duties,  he 
says  that  an  "  extraordinary  wave  of  spiritual  exaltation 
had  swept  over  the  whole  of  the  Primitive  Church.  In  tliat 
age,  tlie  wisli  of  Moses  was  well-nigh  fulfilled ;  ''that  all 
the  Lord'' s  people  were  prophets.''  " 

We  notice  that  this  order  of  ministry, — the  "  Prophets^'' 
— the  Apostle  Paul  classes  as  second,  in  the  Church.  The 
only  officers  who  Avere  ranked  above  them  were  the  Apostles 
themselves.* 

It  needs  no  elaborate  argument  to  show  why  this  preced- 
ence was  naturally  and  rightly  declared. 

The  word  '■'■  Apostle  "  signifies  one  sent  out  from, — an  Am-      ^^ 
bassador;  and  it  implies  a  direct  personal  representation  of 
the  Sovereign  Power  so  sending  the  Messenger  out. 

*  In  confirmation  of  these  and  the  following  statements,  in  regard 
to  the  "  Apostles,"  Bishop  Lightfoot  thus  speaks  of  their  vocation  : 

"  The  Apostle,  Hke  the  Prophet  or  the  Evangelist,  held  no  local  office. 
He  was  essentially,  as  his  name  denotes,  a  Missionary,  moving  about 
from  place  to  place, — founding  and  confirming  new  brotherhoods. 
.  .  .  AVitli  the  growth  of  the  Church,  the  visits  of  the  Apostles  and 
Evangelists  to  any  individual  community  must  have  become  less  and 
less  frequent;  so  that  the  burden  of  instruction  would  be  gradually 
transferred  from  these  missionary  preachers  to  the  local  officers  of  the 
congregation."— (Cow.  Philip,  p.  194.) 

Neander  says  of  their  acknowledged  precedence : 

"  TYiQ  first  place  is  occupied  by  those  who  Avere  chosen  and  set  apart 
by  Christ, — and  fitted,  by  intercourse  with  Him,  to  be  instruments  for 
pul)lishing  the  Gospel  among  all  mankind;  the  witnesses  of  His  dis- 
courses. His  works.  His  sufferings  and  His  resurrection, — the  A2>ostles; 
among  whom  Paul  was  justly  included  on  account  of  Christ's  personal 
appearance  to  him,  anJ  the  illumination  of  his  mind,  independently 
of  any  instrumentality  of  the  other  Apostles." — {History  Planting 
Christian  Church,  vol.  i.,  p.  148.) 
8 


114  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

The  Jewish  authorities  had  their  ^'' Apostles, ^^  whom  they 
sent  forth  charged  with  special  important  messages.  It  is 
supposed  that  the  Lord  expressly  selected  this  name,  for 
those  whom  He  thus  commissioned  to  establish  His  spiritual 
kingdom  over  the  earth,  as  a  title  that  would  be  recognized 
everywhere  by  the  people,  and  would  show  that  He  in- 
tended to  confer  His  own  authority  upon  them ;  also  that 
the  original  number  of  Twelve  was  designated  to  represent 
the  number  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.*  They  were  not,  how- 
ever, afterward  limited  to  twelve ;  both  Paul  and  Barnabas, 
as  well  as  Titus  and  Epaphroditus,  his  eminent  "fellow- 
laborers,"  being  thus  designated  by  the  Apostle  Paul  him- 
self, writing  in  the  Greek  language,  though  not  so  trans- 
lated in  our  version,  (e.  g.  2  Cor.  viii.  23 ;  PMliiD.  ii.  25). 

While  the  first  Apostles  thus  chosen  by  the  Lord  still 
lived,  they  were  regarded  with  great  veneration  by  the 
Church  and  their  influence  and  authority  were  paramount 
in  its  councils.  Yet  they  did  not  claim  for  themselves  any 
"  dominion  over  the  faith  "  of  the  people,  but  only  that  they 
\  were  "  helpers  of  their  joy "  (2  Cor.  i.  24).  They  prayed 
indeed  earnestly  for  them,  but  we  find  also  that  they  as 


*  Mosheim's  invaluable  testimony,  more  than  a  century  ago,  is  in 
entire  accordance  with  these  statements.  On  many  points,  his  astute 
and  learned  judgment  has  been  remarkably  confirmed  by  tha  most 
recent  archtfiological  discoveries  and  investigations. 

He  adds,  with  regard  to  the  Jewish  origin  of  the  title  "  Apostle : " 
"  The  word  Apostle  signifies  a  legate,  an  ambassador,  a  person  in- 
trusted with  a  particular  mission.  .  .  .  This  title  was  given  to  certain 
public  officers  of  great  credit  and  authority,  among  the  Jews,— who 
were  the  confidential  ministers  of  the  High-Priest.  .  .  .  They  were  in- 
vested with  particular  powers,  and  dispatched  on  missions  of  import- 
ance; principally  to  such  of  their  countrymen  as  resided  in  foreign 
Yiaxis.'"— {Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  First  Century,  p.  130.) 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  115 

earnestly  asked  the  prayers  of  the  Church  on  their  own 
behalf  {Eph.  vi.  19;  2  Thtss.  ill.  1). 

They  stood  bravely  and  j)atiently  in  the  fore-front  of  the 
buttle,  and  to  use  their  own  language: 

"  God  hath  set  forth  us  the  Apostles  last,  as  it  were  ap- 
l-)ointed  to  death ;  for  we  are  made  a  spectacle  unto  the 
world  and  to  angels  and  to  men.  .  .  .  Even  unto  this 
present  hour  we  both  hunger  and  thirst  and  are  naked  and 
are  buffeted  and  have  no  certain  dwelling  place,  and  labor, 
working  with  our  owti  hands ;  being  reviled  we  bless,  be- 
ing persecuted  we  suffer  it,  being  defamed  we  entreat,  we 
are  made  as  the  filth  of  the  world  and  are  the  off-scouring 
of  all  things  unto  this  day  (1  Cor.  iv,  9,  11,  12). 

Thus  labored  and  suffered  the  Apostles  in  their  humilia- 
tion; always  "enduring  hardness  as  good  soldiers,"  and 
gladly  "  filling  up  the  measure  of  suffering  left  behind  "  by 
their  Lord  and  Master  "  for  His  Body's  sake,  which  is  His 
Church." 

Yet  no  Ambassador  of  the  great  Roman  Empire,  then  in 
the  height  of  its  glory,  no  Minister  of  any  earthly  Poten-        ^ 
tate  or  King,  was  ever  "  sent  forth  "  charged  with  so  grand 
and  exalted  a  mission,  as  they  were  then  so  faithfully  ful- 
filling. 

They  were  indeed  "Ambassadors  for  Christ,"  the  King  of 
kings, — to  declare  to  all  peoples  "glad  tidings  of  great 
joy ;  "—even  that  "  God  hath  reconciled  the  world  unto  Him- 
self by  the  death  of  His  Son  "  and  had  commissioned  them 
to  stand,  in  "  Christ's  stead,"  and  beseech  the  world  to  be 
"  reconciled  to  God."    Because  "  He  hath  made  Him  to  be 


p< 


116  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

sin  for  lis,  who  knew  no  sin,— that  we  might  be  made  the 
righteousness  of  God,  in  Him  "  *  (2  Cor.  v.  20, 21). 

PROPHETS. 

Next  after  the  "Apostles,"  as  we  have  seen,  ranked  the 
"  Prophets,"— according  to  all  authentic  records  of  the 
CJiarismafa,  recognized  by  the  Primitive  Church;  which 
classification  corresponds  to  the  order  of  Divine  "gifts," 
more  than  once  presented  in  the  New  Testament  narratives. 

*  Professor  Guericke  thus  defines  the  true  position  of  the  "Apostle"''' 
and  "  Prophet,''''  as  compared  with  that  of  the  "Elder,''— a.s  well  as  of  the 
individual  Christian; 

"  It  was  owing  to  the  priestly  character  of  all  Christians,  that  some 
of  their  functions,  afterward  called  '  cZer*cffi/, '  were  not  discharged  by 
a  clerical  class,  in  the  Apostolic  age,— so  marked  by  its  large  and  loving 
mental  freedom.  Every  believer,  for  example,  was  at  liberty  according 
to  his  gifts  and  graces  to  co-operate  in  word  or  deed  for  the  common 
edification."  .  .  .  "But  the  possession  of  a  priestly  character  did 
not  constitute  them  official  priests.  Hence  there  were  from  the  be- 
ginning, in  accordance  with  Divine  establislnnent,  after  the  choice 
and  connnission  of  the  Apostles,  Officers  of  the  New  Covenant;  .  .  . 
And  how  can  the  visible  Body  of  the  Christian  Church  exist,  in  an 
orderly  manner,  unless  in  all  the  Churches,  gathered  and  to  be  gathered, 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  and  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  particular  per- 
sons are  called,  by  human  and  Divine  ordinance,  to  the  preaching  of 
the  word,— to  the  pastoral  care  of  the  flock  of  God,— and  to  the  guid- 
ance and  administration  of  the  concerns  of  the  sacred  Association. 
In  accordance  with  the  mind  of  Christ,  the  Apostles  had  the  oversight 
of  the  entire  body  of  Churches ;— sometimes  acting  through  special  dep- 
uties, like  Timothy  and  others,  in  the  organization  of  single  congrega- 
tions. In  the  single  church,  by  Apostolic  ordinance,  and  partly  in  ac- 
cordance with  Jewish  pattern  of  polity,  'Elders''  constituted  the  pre- 
siding officers."    ("  Constitution  of  the  Primitim  Church;'  p.  107.) 

Pressense  records  in  like  manner  "  It  cannot  be  disputed  that  the 
Apostles  exercised  a  large  authority  in  the  Primitive  Church.  The 
Apostolate  at  first  united  in  one  all  the  various  offices,— which  by  de- 
grees were  to  become  detached.  We  must  set  aside,  however,  any  idea 
of  sacerdotalism.  .  .  .  Christianity  recognizes  no  priesthood  but  that 
of  C/tm'^,— communicated  by  faith  to  the  Christian.  The  Apostles 
were  not  the  sole  organs  of  its  operation,— for  the  promise  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  granted  to  all  the  Disciples.  It  is  incontestable  that  in  the 
Primitive   Church,   some  private  Christians  not  connected  with   the 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  117 

This  title  was  not  by  any  means  limited  to  those  who 
claimed  to  predict  future  events, — which  cliarisma  seems  to 
have  been  rarely  conferred,  or  at  least  exercised,  in  their 
public  assemblies;  although,  as  in  the  case  of  Agabus.  we 
find  occcasional  mention  of  such  power  {Acts,  xi.  28). 

The  term  was  applied  to  all  those  who  spoke  by  a  direct 
and  extraordinary  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; — whether 
for  the  edification  of  the  Church,  and  the  comfort  of  believ- 
ers, by  the  sweet  messages  of  the  Gospel, — or  for  the  awak- 
ening of  sinners  by  the  proclamation  of  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
in  the  power  of  His  Spirit. 

The  word  Tpo<prjrrj^  does  not  in  its  strict  etymoloo'icdl 
sense  signify,  at  least  exclusively,  one  who  foretells  what  is 
to  come, — but  rather  one  who  speaks,  as  it  were,  from  tlie 
immediate  presence  of  the  Lord;  the  preposition  '■''pro'''' 
(before),  being  as  correctly  rendered  in  front  of,  as  regards 
position,  as  antecedently,  in  reference  to  time.* 

Apostolic  offices  were  more  prominent  than  the  majority  of  the  Apos- 
tles : — it  is  enough  to  cite  the  names  of  Stephen,  and  Philip,  and  James, 
('the  Lord's  brother,')  .  .  .  They  were  twelve.  Evidently  this  num- 
ber points  to  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  chosen  people.  The  Apostles 
were  the  ideal  representatives  of  the  true  Israel.  ...  In  other 
words  they  are  the  nucleus  of  the  Church,  so  made  by  Jesus  Christ 
Himself."— ("^lpo*to/?c  Era,'^   vol.  i.,  j).  50.) 

*Th(mias  Chase,  LL.D.,  formerly  President  of  Haverford  College, 
and  well  known  as  a  member  of  the  American  Committee  on  the  Revi- 
sion of  the  New  Testament,  thus  writes  conclusively  on  this  subject : 

"  In  regard  to  the  New  Testament  meaning  of  the  word  'prophet,''  I 
think  the  best  definition  is  given  in  1  Cor.  xiv.  3,  R.  V.  '  He  that  pro- 
phesieth,  speaketh  unto  men,  edification,  and  comfort  and  consolation.' 

"The  pro  in  the  word  does  not  mean  heforehandhnt  forth.  The 
'  prophet '  is  ihefortli-speaker — who  speaks  oat  that  which  is  given  him 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  His  gift  is  the  highest  gift  in  the  ministry;  the 
gift  of  wisdom,  the  gift  of  special  enlightenment  in  the  deep  things  of 
God. 

"  It  involves  an  immediate  inspiration,  more  fully  than  the  gifts  of 


A 


x- 


118  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

In  the  organization  of  the  Primitive  Church,  as  we  read  (1 
Cor.  i.  26,  27,  R.  V.),  not  "  many  wise  after  the  flesh,  not  many 
mighty,  not  may  noble  were  called,— but  God  chose  the 
foolish  things  of  the  world  that  He  might  put  to  shame 
them  that  were  wise." 

'^  It  pleased  Him,  therefore,"  says  Mosheim,  "  to  raise  up 
in  every  direction  certain  individuals,  and  by  irradiating 
their  minds  with  a  more  than  ordinary  manifestation  of  His 
Holy  Spirit,  to  render  them  tit  instruments  for  making 
known  His  words  to  the  people,  and  imparting  instruction 
to  them  in  their  "  public  assemblies,  on  matters  relating  to 
religion.  These  are  they  who  in  the  writings  of  the  New 
Testament  are  called  '  Prophets.'  ''—Early  Christians,  Vol. 

I.,  p.  221. 

Neander  speaks  of  their  communications  as  proceeding 
from  an  instantaneous  and  direct  inward  awakening  by  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,— in  which  a  Divine  afflatus  was 
felt  both  by  speaker  and  hearer.  To  the  PropJiets  were  as- 
cribed those  exhortations  which  struck  with  the  force  of 
an  immediate  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  hearers.  The 
"teachers"  might  also  possess  the  gift  of  2^Top7iecy,  but  not 
all  who  uttered  particular  instantaneous   exhortations,  as 

the  '  teacher'  and  the  '  evangehst,'— who  tell  and  expound  the  old  and 
simple  story  of  the  Grospel;  but  who,  as  well  as  the  '  prophet,'  speak  by 
commandment  of  the  Spirit.  The  Lord  may  inspire  njjrojyhet  or  any 
of  His  saints  with  a  prediction,  but  prediction  is  not  implied  in  the 
New  Testament  nmne  projjhet.'''' 

I  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  my  appreciation  of  the  warm 
approval  which  Prof.  Chase  has  from  time  to  time  expressed  with 
regard  to  this  work,  and  which  greatly  encouraged  me  during  its 
preparation  amid  many  difficulties;  as  well  as  of  the  valuable  assist- 
ance which  he  was  always  ready  to  extend,  especially  in  revising  the 
Greek  notes.  ^-  ^^" 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  119 

"  prophets,"  were  capable  of  holding  the  office  of  *'  teachers." 
— IliMory  Plant ing^  Vol.  I.,  p.  88. 

He  states  also  in  another  place,  that  "  These  '  Prophets ' 
belonged  to  tlie  class  of  instructors  who  held  no  office  in 
any  one  church,  but  traveled  about  to  publish  the  word. 
They  were  distinguished  from  other  '  teachers '  by  the  ex- 
traordinary liveliness  and  steadiness  of  their  Christian  in- 
spiration, and  a  peculiar  originality  of  their  Christian  con- 
ceptions, which  were  imparted  to  them  by  special  aTroza/ly^'':? 
(revelation)  of  the  Holy  Spirit "  (p.  149). 

Pressense  thus  sums  up  the  varied  testimony  in  regard  to 
the  ministry  of  the  Gospel  in  those  early  days :  ^ 

"  In  the  primitive  age  of  Christianity,  preach m^,  properly 
so  called,  is  unknown.  It  is  the  age  of  inspiration.  Utter- 
ance  is  free,  spontaneous,  fervent,  and  irrepressible,  in  the 
assemblies  of  the  Christians.  There  is  the  full  exercise  of 
the  gift  of  prophecy, — the  miraculous  manifestation  of  the 
Divine  Spirit."  ..."  When  this  impassioned  utterance  sub- 
sided, it  w^as  for  a  long  time  followed  only  by  simple  testi- 
mony to  the  great  facts  of  redemption,  —the  brief,  heart-felt 
recital  of  the  gospel  story;  which  was  not  jjerhaps,  at  that 
time,  embodied  in  any  written  book  of  a  canonical  charac- 
ter. '  Preaching '  only  commenced  when  the  extraordinary 
gifts  of  the  Spirit  had  become  rare,  and  when  recourse  was 
had  to  the  newh^  written  Sacred  Books"  i!^^  Christian  Life 
of  Earl II  Clmrvli''  p.  312). 

He  agrees  with  other  Church  historians  that  this  power  of 
proi:»hetic  utterance  was  regarded  as  a  special  enduement  of 


120  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that  it  was  not  confined  to  a  prediction 
of  future  events. 

"  The  gift  of  prophecy  was  distinguished  from  the  other 
operations  of  the  Spirit  by  its  sudden  and  powerful  charac- 
ter. The  'Prophets'  of  the  Prindtive  Church  were  not 
called  only  to  communicate  to  the  Church  revelations  as  to 
the  future.  .  .  .  Like  the  Prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  they 
addressed  themselves  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  their 
hearers ;  the  prophetic  character  manifested  itself  in  the  re- 
markable efficacy  of  their  words."  .  .  .  "Barnabas  placed 
among  the  prophets,  had  been  surnamed  the  '  Son  of  Conso- 
lation.' "... 

"Edifying  and  consoling  discourses  were  accounted  as 
'prophecies,'  when  they  were  accomi^anied  with  peculiar 
power  "  {Apostolic  Era,  p.  87). 

From  these  concurrent  testimonies,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
Ministry  of  the  Gospel  which  "  fed  the  Church  of  God,"  in 
those  its  earliest  and  perhaps  its  best  days,  was  not  exer- 
cised in  "man's  wisdom,"  but  "in  demonstration  of  the 
Spirit  and  of  power;"  that  the  "faith"  of  the  people 
"  might  not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power 
of  God  "  (1  Cor.  ii.  4,  5). 

It  was  this  simple  and  natural,  though  profound  and 
spiritual,  proclamation  of  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation 
through  the  atonement  and  resurrection  and  mediation  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  attracted  the  people,  and  sat- 
isfied the  souls  of  those  gathered  in  His  Name :  which  con- 
soled them  in  all  their  afflictions,  and  nerved  them  for  im- 
pending suffering, — even  it  might  be  unto  death. 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  121 

Such  direct  and  assured  glad  tidings  of  a  better  and 
brighter  hope  than  this  world  held  out  to  them,  had  of 
course  especial  attractions  for  the  poor  and  the  oppressed. 

In  His  first  sermon  at  Nazareth,  our  Lord  had  quoted 
as  an  evidence  that  He  was  the  promised  Deliverer,  the 
prophecj^  of  Isaiah  in  regard  to  the  Messiah: 

"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me, — because  He  hath 
appointed  me  to  preach  good-tidings  to  the  poor.  He  hath 
sent  me  to  proclaim  release  to  the  captive  ...  to  set  at  lib- 
erty them  that  are  bruised  "  (Liol'e,  iv.  18,  19,  R.  V.) ;  and 
this  has  been  true  of  the  faithful  ministers  of  His  Gospel 
ever  since  that  day.  "  Passing  through  the  valley  of  Baca  " 
(dryness),  they  stUl  "  make  it  a  well,"  as  they  did  of  old. 
The  name  of  Jesus  (Saviour),  whom  they  j^reach,  is  as  pre- 
cious to-day  as  when  it  was  iirst  proclaimed : 

"  'Tis  manna  to  the  hungry  soul, — 
And  to  the  weary,  rest."^ 

We  read  that  when  He  was  personally  on  earth  "  the  com- 
mon people  heard  Him  gladly;  "  and  so  it  has  always  been, 
at  those  periods  when  a  great  tidal  wave  of  Gospel  truth 
appears,  by  an  extraordinary  Divine  impulse,  to  have  spread 
over  the  earth;  when,  as  it  were,  the  tiood-gates  of  salvation 
seem  to  have  been  thrown  wide  open  by  a  sjiecial  dispensa- 
tion of  grace,  and  tens  of  thousands  have  been  swept  in  by 
a  mighty  attraction. 

It  was  so,  as  we  have  already  noted,  in  the  days  of  the 
Reformation  in  Europe  and  Great  Britain,  again  in  the 
great  awakening  of  the  following  century  under  the  min- 
istry of  the  Puritans  and  the  early  Friends,  and  jierhaps 


f 


122  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

even  more  evidently  in  the  wonderful  revival,  still  a  hun- 
dred years  later,  through  the  instrumentality  of  the 
Wesleys  and  Whitelield.  As  with  the  first  Christian  be- 
lievers, "Not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble  were  called."  .  .  .  But  God  seemed 
ever  to  choose  "the  weak  things  of  this  world  .  .  .  and 
things  that  are  despised,  and  things  that  are  not,  to  bring- 
to  naught  the  things  that  are  .  .  .  that  no  flesh  should 
glory  before  God  "  (1  Cor.  I  28,  E.  Y.). 

y;^         ITO    PECUNIARY   REWARD. 

Neither  the  Apostles  nor  the  Prophets  received  any 
pecuniary  reward.  While  engaged  in  actual  service  in  any 
Church,  their  needs  were  supplied;  often  only  partially, 
however,  owing  to  the  poverty  of  those  among  whom  they 
labored, — and  they  then  followed  the  example  of  the  Great 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  in  working  at  some  trade  or  engag- 
ing in  some  business  occupation,  during  the  intervals  of 
their  religious  service.  So  with  the  Bishops  and  Elders  of 
the  Church.''^     The  ^''Apostolical  Constitutions "  emphati- 

*  Dr.  Hatch,  in  his  Oxford  "  Banipton  Lectures,"  thus  frankly  records 
and  accepts  the  universal  testimony  of  History  upon  this  interesting 
subject.  His  indorsement  renders  needless  further  confirmation  on 
this  point. 

"  The  funds  of  the  primitive  communities  had  consisted  entirely  of 
voluntary  offerings.  Of  these  offerings  those  officers  whose  circum- 
stances required  it,  were  entitled  to  a  share.  They  received  such  a 
i  share  only  on  the  ground  of  their  poverty.  .  .  .  When  the  Montanists 
I  proposed  to  pay  their  clergy  a  salary,  the  proposal  was  condennied  as 
a  heretical  innovation,  alien  to  Catholic  practice.  Those  who  could, 
supplemented  their  allowance  by  farming  or  by  a  trade.  .  .  .  There  is 
no  early  trace  of  the  later  idea  that  buying  and  sell/' rig,  handicraft  and 
farming,  toere  in  them  selves,  inconsistent  nu'th  the  office  of  a.  Christian 
minister.     The  Bishojis  and  Presbyters  of  those  early  days  kept  banks, 


OFFICIAL    APPOI'NTMENTS.  123 

cally  repeat  the  Scriptural  injunction,  "  If  any  would  not 
work,  neither  should  he  eat." 

The  same  self-devotion  which  marked  the  early  Christian 
Teachers,  characterized  also  the  leaders  of  the  great  religious 
movements  of  the  16th,  ITtli,  and  18th  centuries,  as  well  as 
their  immediate  followers, — to  whom  allusion  has  already 
been  made.  The  preachers  shared  the  daily  labors  and 
cares  of  their  hearers,  and  entered  personally  into  their 
business  engagements.  Thus  sympathizing  with  their  toils 
and  perplexities,  the  minister  of  the  Gospel  sought  to  set 
them  a  holy  example  of  honest  and  industrious  living,  in 
this  world,  as  well  as  to  speak  to  them  of  the  brighter 
hopes  of  the  world  to  come. 

There  are  records  extant  of  the  early  Christian  councils, 
which  prove  that  the  princij^al  anxiety  of  the  Church  in 
those  days  was  that  the  Bishops  and  clergy  should  be  "  en- 
samples  to  the  flock  "  in  all  business  transactions,  and  espe- 
cially that  they  should  not  avail  themselves  of  their  position 
to  "  receive  usury,"  or  to  take  any  advantage  of  the  people 
by  ''  buying  cheaper  or  selling  dearer  "  than  other  traders. 

Eusebius  represents  Apollonius  as  rebuking  the  heresies 
of  the  Phrygians, — pointing  out  among  other  errors  the  fact 
that  their  "  Prophets  "  looked  for  a  pecuniary  reward. 

''  Does  it  not  appear  to  you,"  says  he,  "  that  the  Scripture 

forbids  any  Prophet  to  receive  gifts  and  money  ?  ...  If 

v^,  practised  medicine,  wrought  as  silversmiths,  tended  sheep,  or  sold 
goods  in  the  open  market.  They  were  like  the  second  generation  of 
non-juring  Bishops  a  century  and  half  ago, — or  like  the  early  preachers 
of  the  AVesleyan  Methodists.  They  were  men  of  the  world,  taking  part 
in  the  ordinary  business  of  life."  {"Organization  of  Early  Christian 
Churches;''''  pp.  151,  153,  etc.) 


\ 


124  HISTOEICAL   ESSAYS. 

they  deny  that  their  '  Prophets '  took  rewards,  let  them  at 
least  acknowledge  that  if  they  should  be  proved  to  have  re- 
ceived them,  they  are  no  Prophets  "  {Eccl.  History,  V.  18, 
p.  201). 

We  expect  more  fully  to  show,  in  the  course  of  these 
essays,  that  the  testimony  of  cotemporary  records  estab- 
lishes beyond  question  the  following  facts : 

That  in  the  Apostolic  Church,  and  for  the  greater  part  of 
the  first  century  thereafter,  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel  was 
freely  exercised  under  the  direct  insioiration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  and  subject  only  to  the  restraints  and  advice  of  the 
Elders,  appointed  for  the  oversight  of  its  spiritual  and 
temporal  interests. 

That  at  this  time  there  was  no  such  thing  known  as  the 
placing  of  one  man  in  charge  of  the  religious  services  of  a 
congregation  of  believers,  as  their  special  Pastor  or  Minister. 

That  while  the  people  willingly  gave  of  their  moderate 
substance  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  for  the  temporary 
support  of  those  engaged  in  religious  services,  who  were 
not  able  to  maintain  themselves, — yet  that  these  collections 
were  necessarily  very  limited  in  amount ;  and  that  for  nearly 
two  centuries  no  regular  salary  or  stipend  was  appropriated 
to  any  officer  of  the  Church,  in  return  for  the  discharge  of 
his  public  duties  therein. 

That  afterward  this  practice  was  changed  gradually,  and 
from  the  days  of  the  Emperor  Constantine,  by  the  confisca- 
tion of  the  Heathen  temples  and  of  the  revenues  of  their 
Priests  to  the  uses  of  the  Christian  Churches  and  their 
Clergy,  that  order  became  suddenly  wealthy  and  powerful; 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  125 

and  the  decadence  of  the  Church  in  simplicity  and  spiiit_ 
uality,  which  had  ah^eady  for  more  than  a  century  been 
creeping  over  its  life,  became  marked  and  irretrievable; 
until  at  last  that  declension  resulted  in  those  vital  corrup- 
tions of  the  Papacy,  which  brought  on  gradually  the  "  Dark 
Ages"  of  the  Church.* 


EVANGELISTS. 


It  will  not  be  needful  to  dwell  long  upon  the  considera- 
tion of  the  position  and  duties  of  that  class  of  public  Teach-     /^ 


ers  called  Emingellsts;  nor  to  show  that  by  common  usage         / 
in  the  early  Church,  it  was  not  by  this  term  intended  to         -^  v 


/ 


designate  the  conftpilers  of  the  canonical  books  of  the  Gos-  y^ 

pels.     These  were  as  yet  unwritten,  when  the  knowledge       ^r:  ^>^-<^ 
of    that  Gospel  had  been  verbally  and  very  largely  pro- 
claimed throughout  the  Roman  Empire,  by  the  first  Evan- 
gelists. 

*  Perhaps  again  no  further  evidence  need  be  quoted  to  prove  the 
truth  of  this  r(5suui6  of  well-known  historical  facts,  than  the  remarkable 
testimony  of  the  Vice-Principal  of  St.  Mary  Hall,  Oxford,  Dr.  Hatch: 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century,  Christianity  was  the  relig- 
ion of  a  persecuted  sect :  the  prisons  and  the  mines  were  thronged  Avith 
Christian  confessors:  the  executioner's  sword  was  red  with  Christian 
blood."  .  .  .  "At  the  end  of  the  century,  it  was  not  merely  tolerated  but 
dominant  as  the  religion  of  the  state."  .  .  .  "At  the  beginning  of  the 
century  the  primitive  type  still  survived:  the  government  of  the 
churches  was,  in  the  main,  a  democracy ;  at  the  end  of  the  century  the 
primitive  type  had  almost  disappeared;  the  clergy  were  a  separate  and 
governing  class."  ..."  The  State  allowed  the  Churches  to  hold  prop- 
erty, and  the  Church  became  a  kind  of  universal  legatee.  .  .  .  Constan- 
tine  ordered  that  the  clergy  .  .  .  should  receive  fixed  annual  allow- 
ances. In  some  cases  he  gave  to  churches  the  rich  revenues  of  the 
splendid  buildings  of  heathen  temples.  .  .  .  The  clergy  became  not 
only  independent,  but  in  gome  cases  wealthy.  In  an  age  of  struggling 
poverty,  they  had  not  only  enough  l)ut  to  spare :  they  could  aflfortl  to 
lend,  and  they  lent,  on  interest."  {:' Organization  of  Early  Chriatiau 
Churches^''''  pp.  143,  154.) 


126  HiaTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

We  read  {Acts,  viii.  4)  that  on  the  wide  dispersion  of  the 
Christian  believers,  following  the  martyrdom  of  Stephen,  - 
/  "  They  that  were  scattered  abroad,  went  about  preaching 
the  word;"  and  again  (chap.  xi.  19-21),  that  not  only  to 
the  Jews,  but  to  the  Gentiles,  they  proclaimed  the  Gospel  of 
Salvation  through  Jesus  Christ,— and  that  "  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  was  with  them,  and  a  great  number  that  believed 
turned  unto  the  Lord."  (R.Y.) 

Thus  commences  the  first  record  of  that  missionary  zeal 
and  effort  on  the  part  of  the  people,  which  proved  so  mar- 
vellously fruitful  in  those  early  years  of  the  Church,  and 
which  have  ever  been  owned  and  blessed  by  its  great  Head, 
in  all  subsequent  ages  of  its  history. 
J  It  has  often,  since  that  day,  pleased  the  Lord  to  make  use 

of  the  same  apparently  severe  means,  in  order  to  scatter 
broadcast  the  seeds  of  His  truth  over  the  Earth;  to  impel 
forth,  as  it  were,  the  messengers  of  His  Gospel,  that  they 
should  proclaim  it  to  the  world;  while  otherwise  they 
might  have  settled  down  at  their  ease,  resting  satisfied  to 
enjoy  its  blessings  alone;  "As  an  eagle  stirreth  up  her  nest, 
fluttereth  over  her  young,"  that  the  newly  fledged  bird  may 
fairly  be  driven  from  its  covert  to  try  the  power  of  its 
wings,  so  it  has  often  seemed  needful  for  the  Lord  to  do 
with  "  His  people,"— which  are  "  His  portion  "  {Deut  xxxii. 

11). 

The  Protestants  of  the  Low  Countries  and  of  France,  fly- 
ing from  persecution  unto  death,  carried  with  them  the 
pure  Truth  for  which  they  suffered,  as  well  as  the  industrial 
arts  by  which  they  lived,  into  England  and  Germany,— and 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  127 

wherever  tliey  might  find  a  refuge  over  the  earth.  The 
stern  faith  of  the  Puritans,  and  the  simple  teachings  and 
practice  of  the  Early  Friends,  found  each  in  tlie  New  World 
a  free  and  wide  field  for  their  development,  even  if  they 
might  not  for  a  time  co-exist  in  one  locality. 

Dear  to  the  heart  as  the  home  and  the  fireside  have  ever 
been,  in  all  countries  and  among  all  peoples,  there  is  one 
thing  that  has  ever  been  accounted  still  dearer, — the  lib- 
erty to  worship  their  God  according  to  their  conscientious 
convictions ;  and  this  has  often  been  found  to  be  possible, 
onlj^  through  the  sacrifice  of  personal  comfort  and  family 
ties.  Thus  the  Kingdom  of  God  has,  from  one  generation 
to  another,  been  sjDread  over  the  earth ;  and  when  to  this 
motive  is  added  that  burning  zeal  for  the  "  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,"  and  that  ardent  love  of  souls  which  is  awakened  in 
the  heart  by  a  knowledge  of  One  who  "  loved  us  and  gave 
Himself  for  us,"  we  can  understand  how  willingly  the  early 
Evangelists  went  forth,  without  any  hope  of  earthly  reward, 
to  tell  to  others  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  their  souls.  ^ 

*  Lord  King  thus  speaks  of  the  inspiration  as  well  as  the  fervid  zeal 
of  the  first  converts  in  the  propagation  everywhere  of  the  glorious  Gos- 
pel of  Christ,  as  "glad  tidings  of  great  joy"  which  they  had  themselves 
accei^ted  by  faith,  and  so  realized  its  blessed  power  and  new  life. 

"  Our  Saviour  having  on  His  cross  triumphed  over  '  Principalities 
and  powers,'  and  conquered  the  Devil,  who,  before,  ruled  the  heathen 
world,  and  being  ascended  into  Heaven  and  sat  down  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father,  sent  forth  the  Holy  Spirit  in  His  apostles  and  disciples, 
who  were  then  assembled  at  Jerusalem, — commissioning  and  fitting 
them  for  the  propagation  of  His  Church  and  kingdom  •  Avho  having  re- 
ceived this  power  and  authoi-ity  from  on  high,  went  forth  preaching 
the  Gospel  .  .  .  declaring  those  glad  tidings  to  all  kingdoms  and  pro- 
vinces— so  that,  as  the  apostle  said  (Rom.  x.  18),  '  Their  sound  went  out 
into  all  the  earth,  and  their  words  unto  the  end  of  the  world:'  every- 
one taking  a  particular  portion  of  the  globe  for  his  proper  province,  to 
make  known  the  joyfid  news  of  life  and  salvation  through  Christ, 
therein."    {^'Primitive  Christianity,^''  vol.  i,  p.  11.) 


/ 


128  IIISTOEICAL   ESSAYS. 

TEACHERS. 

7 

'-''And  God  set  some  in  the  CJmrcli,— first  Apostles,  sec- 
ondly Prophets,  thirdly  Teacliers:'' — 1  Corinthians,  xii. 
28,  R.  V. 

Having  considered  the  respective  gifts  and  office  of  "Apos- 
tles" and  "Prophets"  in  the  Early  Christian  Church,  we 
come  now  in  the  order  laid  down  as  above,  to  the  Teachers 
(di8a(77.dhn)  ;  —  a  Very  numerous  body  of  men  with  varied 
functions. 

As  a  general  rule  these  "  Teachers  "  were  also  either  "  Eld- 
ers "   "  or    Overseers "  (afterward   called   Bishops) ;   in  the 

*The  same  Apostle  (Paul),  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  (iv.  11), 
associates  with  the  "Teachers,"  in  the  edification  and  training  of  the 
Church,  a  class  of  workers  whom  he  calls  "Pastors,"  or  Shepherds 
(7Toiin'/mc).  The  word  is  used  in  the  plural-  and  only  this  once  in  the 
New  Testament,  as  applied  to  any  human  instrumentalities.  It  clearly 
refers  to  a  widely  distributed  pastoral  gift,  for  the  purposes  thereafter 
enumerated;  the  charisma,  like  that  of  Teaching,  having  been  vari- 
ously bestowed  upon  chosen  persons  holding  also  the  offices  of  Elders, 
Overseers  or  Evangelists, — as  well  as  uj^on  private  individuals, — for 
the  general  good.  Whenever  the  word  poimen  is  used,  either  in  the 
Gospels  or  the  Epistles,  in  the  singular  number,  as  Pastor  or  Shepherd, 
it  always  has  a  clear  and  direct  reference  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
alone. 

Isaac  Brown,  of  England,  thus  finely  comments  on  this  note : 

"It  struck  me,  as  I  read  this,  that  when  Peter  calls  Christ  apxi-^olfirjv, 
(v.  4),  the  "  Chief  Shepherd,"  he  implied  that  there  were  shepherds  or 
pastors  under  Him."     This  is  very  true. 

It  will  be  seen,  however,  on  reference  to  the  passage  (1  Peter  v.  1 
to  4),  that  the  Apostle  was  addressing  the  "  Elders  among  them,"  and 
exhorting  these  to  "  feed  (literally  to  shepherd,  -oiin}vare)  the  flock" — 
"  willingly  "  {tohmtarilij,  iKovaluq), —  not  for  pecuniary  reward,  "  not  as 
lords  over  the  heritage,  but  as  ensamples  to  the  flock." 

While  therefore  affording  an  interesting  "side  light"  on  the  un- 
doubted pastoral  work  of  the  Apostolic  Church  by  its  Elders  or  duly 
appointed  officers,  this  reference  strongly  confirms  the  jiosition  here 
taken  (and  the  only  question  at  issue),  that  no  such  office  was  conferred 
by  that  Church,  upon  any  one  man,  as  "  Pastor  "  of  one  congregation. 

T.  K. 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  129 

selection  of  whom  an  "  ability  "  or  "  fitness  for  teaching  " 
was  considered  of  primary  importance.*  (See  1  Timothy, 
iii.  2;  2  Timothy,  ii.  24,  and  Titus,  i.  9.,  etc.) 

It  will  always  be  borne  in  mind  in  this  connection  that 
the  Presbyters  were  not,  in  the  Primitive  Church,  a  sepa- 
rate class  from  the  people,  as  now  the  Clergy  from  the  laity, 
but  that  several  Elders  were  chosen  by  and  from  the  congre- 
gation ;  although  not  long  afterward  in  accordance  with  the 
Jewish  custom,  a  ^''primus  inter  pares  ^^  yfViS  undoubtedly 
recognized. 

From  this  precedence  gradually  arose  in  the  Church  of 
Christ  the  office  and  the  title  of  "  Priest,"  often  so  misap- 
plied. Milton  thus  grimly  notes  the  expanded  pretensions 
of  the  abbreviated  word,  in  its  modern  usage, 

"New  Priest  is  but  Old  Presbyter,  WRIT   LARGE." 

The  Didaskaloi  so  especially  selected  were  not  only  be- 
lieved to  be  "  sound  in  the  faith,"  themselves,  but  also  con- 
sidered qualified  through  an  earnest  and  prayerful  study  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  a  diligent  attendance  on  the  minis- 
try of  the  Word,  to  be  safe  expositors  of  "  the  truth  as  it  in 
Jesus."  Yet  even  such  as  these  were  not  so  recognized  by 
the  Church  until  it  was  evident  that  the  Holy  Spirit  had 
conferred  this  especial  charisma  of  teaching  upon  them.f 

*  "  The  office  of  these  Presbyters  or  Bishops  was  to  '  feed  the  Church 
of  God.'  {Acts,  XX.  28  and  1.  Peter,  v.  2.)  Hence  'teaching,'  i^roperly 
so  called,  formed  necessarily  a  principal  branch  of  their  duties."  .  .  . 

"  Most  decidedly  therefore  does  the  Apostle  require  aptitude  to  teach, 
and  indeed  ability  to  teach  officially,  as  an  indispensable  qualitlcation 
in  all  that  should  be  chosen  to  the  office  of  &  presbyter;  and  this  he 
evidently  does,  with  a  view  to  keep  out  all  false  teaching." — QxiericUe' s 
Antiquities  of  Christian  Chui-ch,  pp.  23  and  2o. 

f  "  We  find  that  individuals  came  forward  who  had  already  devoted 
9 


>c 


130  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

There  were  also,  at  the  period  of  Church  history  which 
we  are  now  considering,  chosen  instruments  even  among  the 
unlettered  evangelists  upon  whom  this  gift  of  teaching  was 
especially  poured  forth  by  the  Holy  Spirit,— who,  said  the 
Apostle,  "divideth  to  each  one  severally  even  as  He  will:  " 
(1  Corinthians,  xii.  11,  R.  V.),— and  these  were  fully  recog- 
nized as  Teachers  in  the  public  congregations.* 

The  need  of  such  qualified  instructors  of  the  Christian 
Church,  in  all  ages,  is  evident  and  it  was  most  imperative  at 
the  period  we  are  reviewing. 

Its  whole  right  to  existence  and  its  whole  power  to  pre- 
vail over  the  varied  forms  of  belief  or  of  unbelief  in  the 
world,  rested  upon  the  testimony  of  the  eye-witnesses  and 
ministers  of  the  word  in  regard  to  the  death,  and  the  resur- 


themselves  to  the  study  and  interpretation  of  the  Old  Testament  and 
to  meditation  on  Divine  things, — and  when  by  illumination  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  they  had  become  familiar  Avith  the  nature  of  the  Grospel,  they 
could  with  comparative  ease  develop  and  apply  its  truths  in  public 
addresses ;  having  received  the  gift  for  which  there  was  an  adaptability 
in  their  minds."— iyea^icZer,  History  Planting  of  Christianity,  vol.  i.,  p. 
37. 

*Pressensd  says  of  this  class  of  "'Didaskaloi:'''' 

"  Their  teaching  did  not  take  the  form  of  preaching,  properly  so 
called.  It  was  an  unstudied  speech,  springing  from  the  heart.  The 
Apostles  were  not  the  only  speakers:  the  other  Christians  spoke  as 
freely  as  they  of  the  wonderful  works  of  God.'^—iAjjostolic  Era,  p.  52.) 

Neander  also  draws  a  distinction  between  Preachers  and  these 
Teachers : 

"  The  term  'didaskalos''  presupposed  faith  in  the  doctrines  of  salva- 
tion, and  a  Christianity  already  founded.  He  employed  himself  in  a 
further  training  in  Christian  knowledge."  .  .  . 

Again,  "  These  Didaskaloi  were  teachers  distinguished  by  an  extra- 
ordinary liveliness  and  steadiness  of  their  inspiration,  and  a  peculiar 
originality  of  their  Christian  conceptions,  which  were  imparted  to  them 
by  special  apokalujjsls  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  class  of  Teachers  held 
no  office  in  any  Church,  but  travelled  about  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  a 
wider  circle.''''— "History  Planting  Christian  Chttrch,'"  pp.  148,  149. 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  131 

rection,  of  the  Son  of  God.     (See  Acts,  iii.  13-16;  iv.  10-12; 
V.  30-32;  X.  36-43;  xiii.  22-40,  uud  1  Cor.  xv.  1-11.) 

To  prove  conclusively  that  these  momentous  events  had 
actually  taken  place,  and  all  in  perfect  accordance  with  the 
jirophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  well  as  in  complete  ful- 
filment of  all  the  ritual  and  priesthood  of  the  Law,  required 
a  continued  instruction  of  the  people  by  competent  and  in- 
spired Teachers. 

It  is  very  customary  in  our  day  to  undervalue  sound  doc- 
trine; to  speak  of  Theology  as  a  weary  and  elfete  study,— 
to  declaim  against  the  old  creeds  as  dead,— to  say  that  what 
men  want  to  be  taught  is  a  religion  to  Iwe  by  rather  than  to 
die  Z>?/,— that  it  is  not  what  a  man  believes  but  how  hs  lives 
that  is  the  great  question. 

The  Apostles  and  the  Teachers  of  the  Early  Christian 
Church  were  wiser  than  these  modern  critics. 

As  master  builders  they  knew  that  any  structure  which 
would  stand  the  storms  of  life,  must  be  built  upon  the  one 
sure  Foundation;  that  errors  in  Christian  doctrine  led 
always  to  errors  in  practical  living;— that  the  Lord  Jesus 
had  declared  the  absolute  necessity  to  salvation,  for  those  to 
whom  He  had  manifested  Himself,  that  they  should  believe 
on  Him  and  receive  His  word. 

They  knew  that  He  had  affirmed  Himself  to  be  not  only 
"the  Way"  but  "the  Truth  and  the  Life;"  and  that  we 
could  not  receive  His  Life  or  walk  in  His  Way,  without  re- 
ceiving, and  accepting  His  Truth. 

They  saw  and  fearlessly  proclaimed  to  the  people,  that 
however  the  Lord  might  have  overlooked  their  sins  of  iffnor- 


132  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

ance  in  the  years  that  were  past,  yet  that  when  once  the  day 
had  dawned  and  the  Day  Star  had  arisen  in  their  hearts,  no 
one  could  safely  cleave  to  the  darkness  and  reject  the  light 
of  Truth. 

It  seems  wonderful,  with  all  the  analogies  of  life  around 
us,  that  any  intelligent  j^erson  should  be  misled  ujion  this 
subject.  Is  not  thought  supreme  everywhere  in  its  influ- 
ence over  action?— Is  it  not  in  fact  the  vital  germ  of  all 
action? — Are  not  the  perceptions  and  conclusions  of  the 
mind  potential  in  the  exercise  of  our  volition, — the  motive 
power  of  all  physical  or  mental  activity?  And,  in  scientific 
discovery  or  mechanical  development,  has  it  not  become  a 
proverb  that  "  the  small  world  of  thought  governs  the  great 
world  of  action?"  Is  it  less  so  in  regard  to  the  invisible 
tilings  of  the  kingdom  of  God? 

Take  for  instance  the  case  of  the  Early  Christian  believers, 
surrounded  on  all  sides  as  they  were  with  the  temptations 
and  the  voluptuous  attractions  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome. 
The  Baths,  the  Circus,  and  the  Amphitheatre,  with  an  un- 
bridled indulgence  in  all  the  pleasures  of  appetite  and  sense, 
occupied  largely  the  time  of  the  civilian  under  the  Empire ;  * 
while  the  Roman  soldier  was  wholly  absorbed  in  th.e  en- 
gagements and  glories  of  the  Army.  For  those  inclined  to 
more  aesthetic  enjoyments,  there  were  all  around  them  the 
grand  and  beautiful  temples  and  works  of  Art,  the  imper- 
fect remains  of  which  are  even  now  among  the  world's 
choicest  treasures. — The  Orator,  the  Poet,  the  Philosopher, 
the  Historian  of  the  Nineteenth  century  still  find  in  the 

*  See  Gibbon,  Sismondi,  and  other  Historians. 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  "  183 

relics  of  years  earlier  than  the  Christian  Era,  their  purest, 
and  to  this  dav,  their  unrivalled  models. 

THE   AUGUSTAN   AGE. 

It  would  seem  indeed  as  though  the  Lord  had  chosen,  for 
the  advent  of  His  kingdom  upon  Earth,  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  and  memorable  periods  of  the  world's  history;  lit- 
erally, and  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  term,  the  "Augustan 
age"  of  the  Roman  Empire  {Luke,  ii,  1). 

A  profound  and  scholarly  writer  of  our  day,*  says  of  the 
times  of  the  English  and  German  Reformers:  "We  are  apt 
to  speak  as  though  our  age  were,  par  excellence,  the  age  of 
progress.    Theirs  was  much  more  so,  if  we  duly  consider  it." 

He  goes  on  to  show  how  "  the  ice  of  centuries  was  sud- 
denly broken,"  by  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors  from  Spain, 
and  the  discovery  by  Columbus  of  the  New  World; — by 
the  revival  of  letters  and  the  arts,  and  especially  of  the  New 
(Greek)  Learning; — crowned  by  the  invention  of  the  print- 
ing press,  on  which  closely  followed  the  translation  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  into  the  English  and  German  vernacular, 
— and  the  glorious  Reformation  of  the  Church  in  Great  Bri- 
tain and  Europe.  "  Men,"  he  says,  "  began  to  congratulate 
each  other,  that  their  lot  had  been  cast  upon  an  age  in  which 
such  wonders  were  achieved." 

But  the  times  which  we  are  now  considering,  were  even 
more  stirring  and  eventful  than  those.  No  word  of  the 
Lord  had  been  outwardly  spoken  for  more  than  four  hun- 
dred years; — since  Malachi  closed  so  solemnly  the  prophetic 

*  F.  Seebohm's  Oxford  Reformers  of  1498,  pp.  4-0. 


134  HISTOKICAL   ESSAYS. 

scroll  of  the  Old  Covenant  ScriiDtures.  Yet  as  thoiigli  in 
contrast  with  this  long  "  silence  of  God,"  it  would  seem  that 
the  voices  of  man  had  never  been  so  attractive  and  so  elo- 
quent as  then,  nor  the  manifestations  of  the  power  of  the 
human  mind  so  triumphant  and  wonderful. 

Within  that  x^eriod  Aristotle  and  Plato  and  their  follow- 
ers, had  instructed  the  peoples  in  the  Logic  and  Philosoi^hy 
of  their  schools ;  the  eloquence  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero 
had  stirred  their  souls  to  the  very  depths,  in  the  Arena  or 
the  Forum,  while  not  only  the  old  Greek  Poets  were  every- 
where read, — but  almost  in  that  very  generation  Horace  ai  \d 
Virgil  had  afresh  cultivated  the  taste  and  softened  the  heart 
of  young  and  old, — in  the  study,  or  by  the  fireside, — in  the 
city  and  the  country  alike. 

Perhaps  even  more  important  than  all  these  influences,  in 
their  bearing  on  the  question  before  us,  were  the  triumphs, 
everywhere,  of  the  Roman  Legions,  which  seemed  to  justify 
their  well-known  motto,  "  Vestigia  nulla  retrorsum  ;  "  until 
the  marvellous  victories  of  Julius  Csesar  had  laid  the  whole 
civilized  Earth  under  tribute,  and  made  possible  the  sacred 
record  already  referred  to,  that  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of 
our  Saviour,  who  came  to  "  undo  every  burden  "  and  to 
"  break  every  yoke,"  His  earthly  parents  were  actually  re- 
sponding to  a  decree  of  the  Emperor  Augustus  that  "  all 
the  world  should  be  enrolled,^'  for  taxation. 

Such  were  some  of  the  glittering  attractions  which  a 
worldly  life  presented  to  one  holding  the  rank  of  a  citizen 
of  the  Roman  Emj^ire,  and  in  measure  to  all  classes  who 
came  within  its  influence,  or  under  its  protection,  in  the  early 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  135 

years  of  the  Christian  Church.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
daily  life  and  surroundings  of  the  "  Brethren  "  or  "  Disci- 
ples," as  the  Christians  were  at  first  termed,  offered  to  the 
new  convert  nothing  that  was  outwardly  attractive  or  con- 
genial ;  being  of  the  very  simplest  and  humblest  character. 

Comparatively  few  of  the  "  wise  "  or  "  rich  "  or  "  noble  " 
of  the  earth  seemed  to  be  called,  or  at  least  were  willing  to 
accept  the  call ;  and  for  these  such  acceptance  involved  an 
abdication  of  their  social  position  and  a  complete  surrender 
of  all  their  worldly  prospects ;  very  often  indeed,  an  entire 
severance  of  the  closest  bonds  of  friendship  or  even  of  kin- 
dred, which  were  held  to  have  been  forfeited  by  such  a 
degrading  alliance. 

To  counteract  the  tendency  of  these  various  opposing  in- 
fluences some  supreme  motive,  some  overwhelming  consider- 
ations must  therefore  be  presented  to  an  intelligent  mind, 
in  order  not  only  that  such  an  invidious  position  should  in 
the  first  place  be  deliberately  taken  but  afterward  that  it 
should  be  steadfastly  and  consistently  maintained  through 
all  obloquy  and  danger. 

"  The  word  of  the  Cross  "  (^'.or"?) "  argument  of  the  cross," — 
Speakers'  Commentary^  proved  sufficient  even  for  this, 
and  we  have  seen  it  has  availed  in  all  the  ages  since  then ; 
the  storv  of  the  infinite  love  of  their  Saviour,  who  had  will- 
ingly  made  a  far  greater  sacrifice  for  them ;  who  "  though 
He  was  rich  for  our  sakes  became  poor  that  we  through  His 
poverty  might  become  rich;  "  who,  though  "  on  an  equality 
with  God,"  emptied  Himself  of  His  glory  and  took  upon 
Him  the  form  of  a  servant  and  humbled  Himself  to  death, 


136  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

even  the  death  of  the  Cross,  that  He  might  obtain  a  deliver- 
ance "  from  the  fear  of  death  ■ '  and  a  glorious  and  eternal 
inheritance  for  all  His  followers.  This  was  the  power  that 
prevailed  to  overcome  all  earthly  considerations  and  to 
reconcile  the  "  believer  in  Jesus,"  to  whatever  he  might  be 
called  upon  to  sacrilice,  or  to  endure,  for  One  who  had  done 
and  had  suffered  so  much  more  for  him.  The  precious 
doctrine  of  the  death  and  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  and 
Redeemer,  thus  became  the  key  note  of  their  consecrated 
lives;  and  they  gladly  accepted  the  reasonableness  of  tlie 
practical  teaching  that  "He  died  for  all,  that  {in  order 
that,  ha)  they  who  live  should  no  longer  live  unto  them- 
selves, but  unto  Him  who  for  their  sakes  died  and  rose 
again  "(R.  v.). 

Then,  there  were  many  other  important  collateral  truths 
to  be  taught  and  often  reiterated,  for  the  comfort  and  edifi- 
cation of  the  Church. 

Some  of  these  were  involved  in  the  "  exceeding  great  and 
precious  promises  "  of  their  God  and  Father  to  His  children, 
especially  when  passing  through  the  fire  and  the  flood. 
Others  were  directly  connected  with  the  obligations  of  their 
Christian  faith;  the  necessity  of  practical  righteousness  of 
life,  of  moderation,  temjoerance,  purity,  and  of  the  entire  re- 
nunciation of  self. 

Again,  the  glorious  hope  of  their  own  personal  resurrection 
from  the  grave,  and  the  certainty  of  the  eternal  judgment, 
had  need  then,  as  now,  to  be  definitely  taught.  Moreover 
their  changed  relations  to  one  another  and  especially  to 
their  enemies,  as  a  result  of  their  new  relations  to  their 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  137 

covenant  God  and  Father  through  faith  in  His  dear  Son, 
for  whose  sake  all  their  own  trespasses  and  sins  had  been 
forgiven,  must  continually  be  brought  to  remembrance;  how 
He  had  commanded  them  so  to  forgive  all  who  had  injured 
or  persecuted  them,  and  to  "  love  their  neighbors  as  them- 
selves." 

We  can  more  readily  understand  the  importance,  and  the 
blessing,  both  to  the  Church  and  to  the  world,  of  this  xo-ptaim 
dcdaffxakiag,  ov  gift  of  teaching — when  we  remember  that  the 
last  commission  of  the  great  Teacher  to  His  disciples  covered 
not  only  the  j)reaching  to  all  nations  of  a  full  "  remission  of 
sins  in  His  Name,"  but  also  the  "  teaching  "  to  His  followers 
of  "  all  things  whatsoever  He  had  commanded  them."  * 

It  is  manifest,  however,  that  much  must  depend  upon  the 
thorough  qualification  of  these  Teachers  for  so  responsible 
an  office,  if  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  were  to  be 
maintained  inviolate  in  His  Church  and  to  be  handed  down, 
from  age  to  age,  in  all  their  original  purity  and  power. 
Happily  the  vital  importance  of  a  faithful  promulgation  and 
a  careful  preservation  of  these  sacred  Truths,  exactly  as  the 
Apostles  proclaimed  them,  was  fully  appreciated  by  the 
Founders  and  the  Early  Fathers  of  the  Church.f 

*  These  xapio/udra  or  "gracious  gifts,"  were  special  enduements  of 
tlie  Holy  Spirit,— either  directly  conferring  some  new  power  on  the  re- 
cipient,—or  illuminating  and  sanctifying  natural  gifts,  already  possessed 
and  cultivated;  so  that  they  could  be  most  effectually  used  to  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  edification  of  the  Church.  (See  Mosheim,  Neander  and 
other  Church  Historians.)  T.  K. 

f  Among  other  authorities,  too  numerous  to  cite  or  even  to  refer  to, 
Irenajus,  when  writing  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Second  century,  against 
the  heresies  of  some  false  teachers  of  his  time,  thus  expresses  his  loyalty 
to  Apostolic  teaching: 

"  These  doctrines,  O  Florinus,  are  not  of  a  sound  understanding : 


138  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

The  Apostle  Paul  appears  to  have  fully  realized  the 
solemn  responsibility  attaching  to  the  office  of  a  Preacher 
of  the  word  of  the  Lord;  and  to  have  comprehended  the 
paramount  importance  of  an  intelligent  selection,  as  well  as 
a  careful  instruction,  of  those  who  believed  themselves  called 
to  its  ministry,  and  whom  the  Church  was  about  to  invest 
with  her  authority  as  its  approved  expositors. 

There  are  many  evidences  in  his  Epistles  and  in  the 
records  of  his  Gospel  labors,  that  this  anxious  concern  in 
regard  to  the  proclamation  and  transmission  of  pure  and 
sound  doctrine  was  always  present  with  him. 

Perhaps,  however,  in  his  last  charge  to  Timothy,  his  be- 
loved son  in  the  faith  and  in  some  degree  his  successor  in 
the  charge  of  the  Churches,  we  find  the  most  emphatic  ex- 
pression of  his  mature  judgment.     It  was  written  from  his 

they  are  inconsistent  with  the  Church,  and  calculated  to  thrust  those 
that  follow  them  into  the  greatest  impiety.  .  .  .  These  doctrines  were 
never  delivered  to  thee  by  the  Presbyters  before  us,  who  also  were  the 
immediate  disciples  of  the  Apostles.  ...  I  remember  the  blessed  Poly- 
carp,— and  his  conversations  with  the  people,  and  his  familiar  inter- 
course with  John  and  with  those  who  had  seen  the  Lord.  How  he  used 
to  declare  their  discourses,  and,  what  things  he  had  heard  from  them 
concerning  the  Lord.  .  .  .  Also  concerning  His  miracles  and  His  doctrine ; 
all  these  were  told  by  Polycarp,  in  consistency  with  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
as  he  had  received  them  from  the  eye-witnesses  of  the  doctrines  of  sal- 
vation. .  .  .  These  things  by  the  grace  of  Grod  I  am  in  the  habit  of  re- 
calling faithfully  to  mind."  {Advers.  Hcereses,  Lib.  ii.)  Eusebius,  who 
quotes  the  above,  records  of  Clement  of  Alexandria,  a  cotemporary  of 
Iren<fius : 

"  This  Clement  was  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures ;  and  he 
collected  several  volumes  recording,  as  he  says,  '  those  efficacious  and 
inspired  doctrines,'  which  he  had  received  through  authentic  channels, 
as  '  true  traditions  of  the  salutary  doctrine  given  by  Peter  and  James 
and  John  and  Paul,  and  descended  from  father  to  son :  and  which  by 
the  favor  of  God  have  come  down  to  us  to  plant  that  ancient  and  Apos- 
tolic seed  likewise  in  our  minds.' " 

{See  Eusebius  Eccl.  Hist.,  Book  v.  chaps,  xi.-xx.) 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  139 

jDrison  at  Rome,  Avlien  "  ready  to  be  offered  up," — his  I'rail 
tabernacle  even  then  suffering,  as  he  tells  us,  the  pangs  of 
"  dissolution,"  doubtless  from  the  severities  of  his  confine- 
ment. Yet  his  heart  seems  absorbed  in  thoughts  of  the 
momentous  interests  and  responsibilities  involved  in  that 
Gospel  ministry,  which  he  was  about  to  lay  doAvn.  For 
liiuiself  he  had  the  consciousness  that,  without  fear  or  favor, 
he  had  ever  souglit  to  discharge  them;  having  "fought  the 
good  fight "  and  "  kept  the  faith  "  and  well-nigh  "  finished 
his  course."     Let  us  listen  to  his  parting  words:* 

"  Every  Scripture  inspired  of  God,  is  also  profitable  for 
teaching,  for  reproof  {conmction),  for  correction,  for  in- 
struction {rnarg.  discipline),  which  is  in  rigliteousness ;  that 
the  man  of  God  may  be  complete,  furnished  {i^riprtcTfikxK^^ 
fitted)  completely  unto  every  good  work.  I  charge  thee 
(A.  V.  "  therefore^'),  in  the  sight  of  God  and  of  Christ 
Jesus,  who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead,  and  by  His 
appearing  and  His  kingdom,  preach  the  word;  be  in- 
stant in  season,  out  of  season,  reprove  (marg.  "  bring  to  the 
proof"),  rebuke,  exhort,  with  all  long-sufl'ering,  {^' great 
patience  of  mind^''  iia/.poOufua)^  and  Teaching"  {S'.<Jayr,) — 2 
Timothy,  iii.  16  to  iv.  2,  R.  V.). 

The  Apostle  had  already,  in  his  first  Epistle,  exhorted 
Timothy  to  "  take  heed  to  the  teaching  and  continue  in  it," 
that  he  might  "  not  only  save  himself,  but  those  who  heard 

*  Dr.  Farrar  draws  a  vivid  picture  of  the  Apostle's  sufferings  in  this 
second  imprisonment,  while  awaiting  execution,  under  Nero's  cruel 
officers. 

His  position  had  greatly  changed  since  his  first  arrival  at  Rome, 
merely  as  an  Appi'llant  to  Cjesar  from  a  frivolous  Jewish  charge.  See 
Life  of  St.  Paul,  yiii.  (568  to  673. 


140  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

him;" — to  "be  diligent  in  these  things"  (lit. — '''■make  tliem 
Ms  care,^'' — raDra  jj-zXira)^  "  give  Mmself  wholly  to  them  "  {h 
TouToii  lff(h,—be  absorbed  in  these  thing s\  that  his  "progress 
may  be  manifest  to  all.'" 

And  now  he  reiterates  the  charge  that  his  disciple  was  to 
"  give  diligence  to  present  himself  approved  unto  God, — a 
workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed, — rightly  divid- 
ing, ('  cutting  straight,^  opdoro/xouvTa),  the  word  of  Truth." 

His  anxious  interest  for  the  preservation,  in  all  its  j)urity, 
of  that  "  word  of  Truth,"  extended,  moreover,  beyond  the 
life-time  of  his  disciple;  and  he  therefore  enjoins  iipon  him 
not  only  himself  to  be  "  strong  in  the  grace  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus,"  but  to  i^rovide  for  a  succession  of  well-in- 
structed Teachers  in  the  Church. 

"The  things  v/hich  thou  hast  heard,  {didst  hear),  from 
me  among  many  witnesses,  the  same  commit  {rzapaOob,  en- 
trust,) thou  to  faithful  men  who  shall  be  able  {havoi,  compe- 
tent) to  teach  others  also  "  (2  Timothy,  ii.  R.  V.). 

No  one  can  rightly  interpret  this  last  definite  command, 
as  referring  to  "the  work  of  an  Evangelist," — to  which 
Timothy  is  also  exhorted.  It  clearly  enjoins  the  careful  in- 
struction of  competent  persons,  as  Teachers  in  the  Church 
of  those  profound  and  comprehensive  doctrines  of  the  Gos- 
pel which  the  Apostle  himself  had  so  ably  and  faithfully 
taught.  "^ 

*  Mosheim  well  expresses  the  general  judgment  of  Church  historians 
and  scholars  on  this  subject: 

"  It  is  evident  that  St.  Paul  could  not  mean  that  they  were  to  be 
taught  the  mere  elements  or  rudiments  of  the  Christian  religion ;  for 
with  those  every  one  professing  Christianity  was  of  course  brought  ac- 
quainted ;    and  doubtless,  therefore,  those  whom  the  Apostle  directs 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  141 

It  was  not  a  proficiency  in  scholastic  literature,— in  logi- 
cal or  rhetorical  culture,— that  he  there  advocated.  He  is 
not  now  recommending  a  study  of  the  philosophy  of  Aris- 
totle, or  Plato,  or  Seneca,  as  a  preparation  for  the  ministry 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ;  although  he  exemplified  in  his  own 
case  the  advantages  of  human  learning,  when  sanctified  by 
the  grace  and  anointed  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  He  expressly 
tells  us  {Ej>li.  iv.  12,  R.  V.)  the  purpose  for  which  this  gift 
of  teaching  was  conferred  on  so  many  members  of  the 
Church : 

"And  He  gave  .  .  .  Pastors  and  Teachers,  for  the 
perfecting  {^  thorough  fitting^  xarapnaixw)  of  the  Saints  unto 
the  work  of  ministering:  unto  {eis,  in  order  to)  the  building 
up  of  the  Body  of  Christ." 

The  same  word  substantially,  it  will  be  remembered,  is 


Timothy  to  instruct,  must  have  known,  and  been  thoroughly  versed  in 
them  long  before.  The  discipline,  then,  which  Timothy  had  received 
from  St.  Paul,  and  which  he  was  thus  to  become  the  instrument  of 
connimnicating  to  others,  was  without  question,  as  to  that  fuller  and 
moi-e  perfect  knowledge  of  Divine  Truth  revealed  in  the  Gospel  erf 
Christ ;  which  it  was  fitting  that  every  one  who  was  advanced  to  the 
office  of  a  Teacher  among  the  Brethren  should  possess.  .  .  . 

"  It  may  moreover  be  inferred  from  his  words  that  the  Apostle  had 
personally  discharged  the  same  office  which  he  thus  imposes  on 
Timothy  :  and  had  applied  himself  to  the  properly  educating  of  future 
Teachers  and  Ministers  of  the  Church ;  for  it  appears  that  his  instruc- 
tions to  his  favorite  disciple  'had  been  imparted— rf«aj90?Zo/?  martnron, 
—in  the  presence  of  many  witnesses;  dia  having  in  this  place,  unques- 
tionably, the  force  of  the  preposition  "  {enopion.  So  R.  V.  renders  dia). 
Mosheim  goes  on  to  express  his  belief,  for  which  he  gives  valid  reasons 
"  that  not  St.  Paul  alone,  but  also  all  the  other  Apostles  of  our  Lord, 
applied  themselves  to  the  properly  instructing  of  certain  select  persons 
so  as  to  render  them  fit  to  be  intrusted  with  the  care  and  government 
of  the  Churches,  and  that '  the  first  Christian  Teachers  were  brought  up 
immediately  under  their  eye.'"— (  Mosheini's  Eccl.  History,  First  Cen- 
tury, vol.  i.,  p.  224.) 


V. 


i 


142  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS, 

used  by  the  Apostle  in  reference  to  the  Divine  purpose  in 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  (2  Timothy^  iii.  17,  R.  V.). 

"  That  the  man  of  God  may  be  complete,  furnislu  d  com- 
pletely (or  fitted  covipletely,  more  literally,  i^r/priff/jLiyo's)  for 
every  good  work"  (R.  Y.). 

Evidently,  therefore,  it  was  instruction  in  the  truths  of 
the  word  of  the  Lord,  as  revealed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
which  the  Apostle  had  primarily  in  view,  in  his  injunction 
to  Timothy. 

DEACONS. 

Little  need  be  said,  at  this  time,  in  regard  to  the  special 
duties  of  the  order  of  '*  Deacons,"  so  far  at  least  as  the  Apos- 
tolic Churches  are  concerned.  The  object  of  their  first  ap- 
pointment is  so  clearly  explained  in  Luke's  graphic  liistory 
of  the  "Acts  of  the  Aj)ostles,"  (chap.  vi.  1-6),  that  a  mere 
reference  to  the  2:>assage  will  sufficiently  define  their  original 
position  and  responsibilities. 

As  we  have  noticed  of  the  term  BpisTcopos,  so  also  that 
of  DiaTionos  was  already  familiar  through  its  frequent 
use  in  civil  and  political  associations, — especially  among  the 
Grecian  communities  where  they  were  employed  to  desig- 
nate the  officers  in  charge  more  particularly  of  the  outward 
affairs  of  those  organizations. 

Nor  were  these  ofiices  and  titles  unknown  in  the  ancient 
Jewish  Church,  as  appears  from  the  Septuagint  version  of 
Isaiah  and  other  portions  of  the  Old  Testament.* 

*  For  a  full  explanation  of  this  subject,  see  Dr.  Hatch's  "  Organiza- 
tion of  the  Early  Christian  Churches''''  (Lecture  II.,  "  Bishops  and  Dea- 
cons,^^  pp.  26-55;,  and  Professor  Sanday's  interesting  article  on  the  "Ori- 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  143 

From  the  earliest  date  of  record  liowever  these  dia- 
Jconol  were  not,  among  the  Christian  Churches,  limited  in 
their  ministrations  to  mere  temporal  services.*  As  npon 
the  Elders  and  Teachers,  the  charisvia  of  prophecy,  or 
the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  might  be  conferred  also  uj)on 
Deacons.  It  teas  so  preeminently  upon  Stephen,  the  first 
named  of  the  original  seven,  who  is  declared  to  have  been 
"a  man  full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit"  (R.  Y.),  and 
who  has  the  honor  of  being  the  first  recorded  martyr  to  the 
glorious  truths  which  the  Ai^ostles  had  proclaimed.  His 
dying  prayer  for  his  murderers  is  second  only,  in  its  beauty 
and  power,  to  that  of  our  Redeemer  Himself,  f 

This  ministerial  service  of  the  Deacons  gradually  ab- 
sorbed more  and  more  of  their  time  and  energies,  as  it  did 
also  of  the  Bishops,  whom  they  assisted  both  in  their  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  duties,  and  with  whom  they  became  very 

gin  of  the  Christian  Min/istry,''''  who  quotes,  in  evidence,  a  passage 
from  the  well-authenticated  Epistle  of  Clement  of  Rome,  {Ad  Cor.,  c 
42),  written  probably  before  the  close  of  the  First  century,  in  which  he 
appeals  to  the  antiquity  of  these  offices  in  the  Jewish  Church,  citing 
among  other  authorities  the  Septuagint  version  of  Isaiah. — "London 
Exi>oiiitoi\"'  February,  1887. 

*  The  original  meaning  of  the  word  (J^o/vor/u,  (from  6ia^  intens,  and 
Kovfu  to  hasten),  was  to  facilitate,  to  assist,  anil  so  to  minister  to,  in 
any  way.  By  an  examination  of  the  Greek  Concordance,  it  will  be 
found  that  this  word  is  used,  in  its  various  parts,  one  hundred  times  in 
the  New  Testament,  and  only^^e  times  is  it  construed,  in  our  English 
version  (A.  V.),  as  pertaining  to  the  Church  office  of  Deacon.  In  the 
Gospels  and  Epistles,  it  is  almost  universally  rendered  simply  as  service 
or  ministry.  The  Apostle  Paul,  however,  in  his  first  letter  to  the  Cor- 
inthians (xii.  5),  when  describing  the  varieties  of  spiritual  gifts  in  the 
Church,  speaks  of  the  diversities  of  "  ministrations '"'  (Smmviuv). 

T.  K. 

t  Augustine  finely  says,  Had  it  not  been  for  Stephen's  dying  prayer, 
the  Church  might  not  have  had  its  great  Apostle  Paul,  who  was  one  of 
those  assisting  at  his  martyrdom.  "*S7'  Stephanus  non  orasset  Ecclesia 
Paulum  non  haberef'' — Aug.  Sermo  xeiv. 


144  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

closely  associated ;  until  as  we  read  in  the  ''^Apostolic  Con- 
stitutions "  (II.  44),  the  Deacon  came  to  be  regarded  as 
"  the  eye,  the  ear,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Bishop." 

Up  to  the  time  at  least  of  Origen,  however  (a.d.  230),  they 
preserved  also  their  distinctive  office  as  dispensers  of  the 
charity  and  general  transactors  of  the  business  of  the 
Church."* 

In  addition  to  all  these  ministrations  the  Deacons  had 
especial  charge  of  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  sick  and 
poor;  and  had  also  the  official  sanction  of  the  Church  in 
conducting  its  public  services  during  any  absence  of  those 
officers  more  definitely  set  apart  for  the  ministry  of  the 
word  or  the  reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  their  midst. 

In  the  Apostolic  days,  the  Deacons  ministered  at  the  pub- 
lic repast  spread  for  rich  and  poor  alike,  where  "  they  had 
all  things  in  common "  and  where,  in  momentary  expecta- 
tion of  their  Lord's  coming,  they  continued  together  stead- 
fastly under  the  teaching  of  the  word  of  God  and  in  prayer,  f 

*  Origen  speaks  of  them  {Comm.  on  Matthew)  as  diaKovvTeq  to.  iKKlrjma^ 
Xptifj.aTa,'^^  and  as  being  "employed  under  the  Bishop  (by  that  date  a 
senior  officer  of  the  Church),  to  inspect  and  reheve  all  the  indigent 
and  suffering  members  of  his  Diocese." — See  also  "  King''s  Primitive 
Church;'  p.  80. 

f  These  primitive  occasions  of  religious  and  social  communion  are 
thus  described  by  Dr.  Hatch : 

"  Those  who  accepted  Christian  teaching  were  drawn  together  by 
the  force  of  a  great  spiritual  emotion, — the  sense  of  sin,  the  belief  in  a 
Redeemer,  the  hope  of  the  life  to  come ;  and  when  so  drawn  together, 
they  had  all  things  in  common.  The  world,  and  all  that  was  in  it,  was 
destined  soon  to  pass  away.  The  Lord  was  at  hand.  In  the  mean  time 
they  were  members  one  of  another.  The  duty  of  those  who  had  this 
world's  goods  to  help  those  who  were  in  need,  was  primary,  absolute, 
incontestable.  The  teaching  of  our  Lord  Himself  had  been.  .  .  .  '  Sell 
that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in 
Heaven,'"' — Lectures  on  Early  Church,  j).  35. 


>^ 


OFFICIAL    APrOINTMFNTS.  145 

When  afterward  the  glow  of  tliis  early  thought  and 
earnest  exi)ectation  had  faded  away  somewhat,  in  the  shad- 
owy pursuit  of  ritualistic  emblems,  and  the  "  Lord's  Supper," 
once  bright  with  His  inspired  praises  and  warm  with  the 
spontaneous  charities  of  His  peojDle,  had  been  gradually 
transformed  into  a  formal  eucharistic  service  prescribed  by 
the  Church  as  a  part  of  its  worship,  the  Deacons  were  nat- 
urally appointed  to  hand  the  bread  and  wine  to  the  congre- 
gation.* 

DEACONESSES. 

In  close  connection  with  this  subject  is  a  consideration  of 
the  office  of  Deaconess^  which  was  undoubtedly  recognized 
by  the  Early  Christian  Church. 

In  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  (xvi.  1),  the  Apostle  Paul 
commends  to  the  brethren,  "Phebe,  our  sister,  who  is  a 
servant"  {nuna^^  Suixovov,  —  "being  a  deaconess,''''  see  R.  V,, 
margin)  "  of  the  Church  that  is  at  Cenchrese,  that  ye  receive 
her  in  the  Lord,  worthily  of  the  saints  and  that  ye  assist 
her  in  whatever  matter  she  may  have  need  of  you ;  for  she 
herself  hath  been  a  succorer  {-/wffrdTi^,  sustainer  or  assistant) 
of  many  and  of  mine  own  self." 

This  passage  clearly  shows  that  in  the  separate  churches 

*Maiiy  testimonies  from   the   best   scholars   and   historians,  who        V 
themselves   accepted   the  Eucharist   as  a   Church  institution,   might 
be  given   of  this  statement.      The   following,    from  the  learned  Dr. 
Nathanael  Lardner,  may  be  sufficient  in  this  place.     He  says  of  this 
primitive  supper : 

"  Some  have  thought  that  this  feast  generally  accompanied  the 
Eucharist.  But  Mr.  Hallett,  in  his  discourse  on  th<?  Ayapa;,  or  '  Love- 
Feasts,'  of  the  early  Christians,  having  considered  the  testimonies  of 
ancient  writers,  says  'It  uhi.s  a  supper,  and  the  Eucharist  did  not  attend, 
either  before  or  after.'"'— See  Lardner's  Works,  vol.  vii.,  p.  42. 
10 


146  lllSTUiUCAL   ESSAYS. 

such  a  prominent  office  for  women  existed,  and  that  a  faith- 
ful incumbent  was  entitled  to  a  certificate  of  honorable  rec- 
( gnition  and  to  a  claim  for  all  fellowship  and  aid  from  other 
Christian  communities  among  whom  she  might  feel  called 
to  any  special  service.  The  assumption  of  some  commenta- 
tors that  her  business  in  Rome  was  of  a  purely  secular 
nature,  seems  to  have  no  real  foundation.  She  is  generally 
held  to  have  been  the  bearer  of  the  Epistle  to  Rome. 

There  are  several  other  remarkable  passages  in  the  closing 
chapter  of  this  Epistle,  which  recognize  the  honored  services 
of  women,  in  the  Gospel  ministrations  of  the  Church.  The 
Apostle  sends  his  salutations  to  Priscilla,  to  Mary,  to  Try- 
I)hcena  and  Tryphosa,  and  to  Persis,  whom  he  testifies  had 
"labored  much  in  the  Lord,  T.,>/Ma  hMrUanzy,''  and  some  of 
them  had  been  "  fellow  workers  with  himself  "  (xvi.  3, 6, 12.)* 

The  Deaconesses  seem  to  have  had  an  especial  access  to 

*  Mosheim  fully  recognizes  these  earnest  Gospel  services  of  women, 
while  drawing,  for  himself  a  distinction  between  their  ministrations 
and  that  of  public  teaching  in  the  Church.     He  says : 

"  I  observe  that  St.  Paul,  in  various  places,  applies  the  Greek  word 
Kopido  (and  its  derivatives)  in  an  especial  sense  to  the  kind  of  labor 
which  he  and  other  holy  persons  encountered  in  propagating  the  Gos- 
pel, and  in  bringing  over  the  Jews  and  heathen  to  a  faith  in  Christ." 
..."  The  word  appears  to  me  to  have  the  same  significance  in  the  first 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  (xv.  10),  where  he  declares  himself  to  '  have 
labored  more  abundantly '  than  all  the  rest  of  the  Apostles,— his  mean- 
ing unquestionably  being  that  he  had  made  more  converts  to  Chris- 
tianity than  they."  .  .  .  "  In  no  place  in  the  New  Testament,  I  believe, 
is  the  word  made  use  of  to  express  the  ordinary  labor  of  teaching  and 
instructing  the  people. "—^«rZ?/  Christians,  vol.  i.,  p.  216. 

Guericke  thus  embodies  the  testimony  of  certain  Early  Fathers  of 
the  Church,  whom  he  also  quotes  in  notes  appended,  which,  however, 
hardly  seem  to  sustain  so  positive  a  statement.  "  Public  testimony  was 
by  no  means  a  part  of  the  office  of  a  Deaconess.  It  was  properly  the 
office  of  ministering,  and  if  the  duty  of  teaching  was  sometimes  com- 
bined with  it,  yet  in  that  case  it  was  confined  exclusively  to  females." — 
Antiquities  of  Christian  Church,  p.  50. 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  147 

the  hearts  and  homes  of  the  Eastern  women ;  and  in  all  defi- 
nite personal  hand-to-hand  work  with  individual  sinners  of 
every  class,  as  well  as  in  loving  ministration  to  the  sick  and 
afflicted,  they  were  eminently  successful. 

PUBLIC   MINISTRY   OF   WOMEN. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  moreover,  that  in  Apostolic  days 
the  gift  of  prophecy,  or  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel  in  the 
public  assemblies,  was  poured  out  upon  women  as  well  as 
upon  men  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that  their  liberty  to  ex- 
ercise that  gift,  under  His  direct  inspiration,  was  fully  recog- 
nized by  the  primitive  Christian  Churches. 

We  read  that  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  they  all, 
women  as  well  as  men,*  were  assembled  together,  "sud- 
denly" .  .  .  "they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  began  to  speak "  .  .  .  "as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utter- 
ance." And  when  many  wondered  at  such  an  unusual  spec- 
tacle the  Apostle  Peter  declared  to  them  that  this  miracu- 
lous inspiration,  so  widely  diffused,  was  but  the  fulfilment 
of  the  word  of  the  Lord  through  the  prophet  Joel,  that 
"  daughters  as  well  as  sons  "  should  "  prophesy,"  and  that 
upon  "  handmaidens  "  as  well  as  upon  "  servants  "  would  He 
pour  out  His  Spirit,  in  the  latter  days  of  His  Gospel  dispen- 
sation.    (See  Acts,  ii.  4,  16-18.)t 

*  Archdeacon  Farrar  thus  notes  this  first  comminghng  of  women 
with  men  in  public  worship.  "  The  Apostles  .  .  .  suffered  the  tcomen 
to  meet  with  them  in  prayer;  not  in  any  sei)arate  court,  as  in  the  wor- 
ship of  the  Temple  or  the  Synagogue, — but  in  that  equality  of  spiritual 
communion  which  was  to  develop  afterwards  into  the  glorious  doc- 
trine .  .  .  that  in  Christ  Jesus  'all  are  one.'" — Life  of  St.  Paul,  p.  49. 

f  Canon  Cook,  although  firmly  holding  to  the  established  views  of 


148  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

It  is  also  related  (xxi.  8-10)  that  years  afterward,  the 
Apostle  Paul  "  tarried  many  days  "  at  "  the  house  of  Philip 
the  Evangelist,"  who  "  had  four  daughters  which  did  proph- 
esy." There  appears  to  be  no  evidence  in  the  inspired 
record  to  sustain  the  opinion  expressed  by  some,  that  their 
Gospel  services  were  limited  to  the  family  or  to  their  own 
sex.*  It  is  evident  from  the  Apostle's  letter  to  the  Corin- 
thians (1  Cor.  xi.  5),  that  both  he  and  the  Church  recognized 
that  the  gift  of  prophesying  in  their  public  assemblies, 
("  discoursing  in  the  Spirit^''  say  Alford  and  De  Watte  on 
this  passage)  was  bestowed  upon  women  as  well  as  upon 
men,  in  that  day. 

His  subsequent  injunction,  in  another  part  of  the  same 
Epistle,  (xiv.  34)  so  often  quoted,  cannot  be  rightfully  under- 
stood as  invalidating, — far  less  as  reversing  altogether,  this 
clear  recognition. 

his  church  in  regard  to  the  pubHc  ministry  of  women  generally,  is  too 
accurate  and  loyal  a  Bible  scholar  to  misinterpret  this  passage. 

He  says,  in  his  notes  to  verses  17  and  18,  speaking  of  this  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit : 

"  Dauf/Jiter.s,'" — "As  upon  Miriam,  Deborah,  Huldah  and  Anna."  .  .  . 
"  The  daughters  of  Philip  came  within  the  scope  of  this  prediction " 
(xxi.  9). 

"Prophesy,"'^ — "  Not  foretell  only, — shall  become  inspired  teachers, — 
enabled  to  warn,  exhort,  encourage,  rebuke  :  and  to  declare  and  inter- 
pret the  Divine  will.'" — Speakefs  Commentary,  New  Testament,  vol.  ii., 
p.  365. 

*  In  confirmation  of  the  general  fact  of  women's  ministry  in  the  early 
Church,  we  may  remember  that  Pliny  the  Younger  bears  undoubted 
testimony  to  it.  As  Proprietor  of  Bithynia,  Asia  Minor,  in  his  cele- 
brated letter  to  the  Emperor  Trajan  (written  about  a.d.  107),  he  speaks 
of  having  vainly  sought  to  extract  "by  torture,"  from  "two  hand- 
maidens who  were  called  ministers"  ("  ex  duabns  ancillis,  qu(v  ministrcf 
dicebantur),  some  admission  of  the  horrible  crimes  charged  upon  the 
Christian  assemblies  by  their  enemies.  Alford  renders  these  words, 
"  two  handmaidens  who  were  called  deaconesses.''''    So  others.     T.  K. 


OFFICIAL    APPOINTMENTS.  141) 

Whatever  the  meaning  of  the  Apostle  may  have  been  in  ^ 
the  latter  passage,  (and  there  are  various  exphmations  of  it), 
he  certainly  could  not  have  intended  to  contravene  his  own 
words,  just  being  written  to  the  same  Church;  nor  to  nul- 
lify the  emphatic  declaration  of  the  Apostle  Peter  at  Pente- 
cost,  as  to  the  fulfilment  on  that  memorable  day  of  the 
Avord  of  the  Lord  to  His  Church,  spoken  centuries  before; 
still  less  wholly  to  repudiate  that  sure  word  of  prophecy 
itself. 

The  passage  is  clearly  one,  among  many  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, where  (as  our  Saviour  has  taught  us)  we  are  to  inter- 
pret the  text,  "  it  is  written,^''  by  the  context,  "  it  is  written 
again  ;  "  simply  leaving,  without  unprofitable  controversy, 
whatever  we  may  fail  with  our  finite  understanding  to 
reconcile  or  to  comprehend. 

We  may  joyfully  and  reverently  believe  that,  under  the 
Christian  dispensation,  as  the  same  Apostle  himself  so  beau- 
tifully unfolds  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Galatian  believers,  (iii. 
28),  "There  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek  with  the  Lord's  chil- 
dren, there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male 
nor  female  :  for  all  are  one  in  Christ  Jesus."  * 

*  Dr.  Farrar  records,  in  a  note  on  this  passage,  that  the  Jewish  morn- 
ing thanksgiving  prayer,  then  in  daily  use,  recited  in  conteiui)tuous 
contrast,  each  of  those  three  classes  thus  recognized  by  the  Apostle,  as 
one  in  Christ :  and  the  worshipper  "  blesses  God  who  had  not  made 
him  a  Oentile,  a  slave,  or  a  woman.''— 8ee  note  on  Life  of  St.  Paul, 
p.  438. 

Wm.  L.  Pearson,  Ph.D.,  of  Leipzig  University,  adds  this  interesting      't~ 
comment  with  other  annotations ; 

"  This  Jewish  prayer  is  yet  in  use,   as  published  at  Wilna,  in  the 
'  Prayers  of  Israel,'  viz. : 

'"1.  Blessed  be  thou,  O  Lord  our  God,  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  that 
thou  hast  not  made  me  a  Gentile. 


150  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

Accepting  therefore  on  this  interesting  question,  his  gen- 
eral injunction  in  an  Epistle  to  the  same  Church  {Gal.  v. 
1),  let  us  "  Stand  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath 
made  us  free,"  and  "not  be  entangled  with  any  yoke  of 
bondage." 

Even  should  we  feel  compelled  to  admit  that  the  Early 
Christian  Church  did  not  seem  very  long  to  "  stand  fast "  in 
such  "  liberty,"  and  became  too  soon,  in  this  as  well  as  in 
other  respects,  entangled  with  a  network  of  legal  bondage, 
yet  we  can  rejoice  in  the  glorious  enfranchisement  and  ele- 
vation of  woman,  which  from  that  day  to  this,  the  world 
over,  has  ever  accompanied  the  proclamation  and  the 
acceptance  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

The  annals  of  the  early  Christians  are  bright  with  the 
records  of  this  wondrous  transformation, — from  a  position  of 
degradation  and  servitude,  to  the  sweet  fellowship  and  com- 
munion of  the  saints. 

She  who  had  beea  too  often  but  the  slave  of  man's  plea- 
sure, or  the  victim  of  his  tyranny,  became  his  loving  and 
equal  companion,  by  the  fireside  and  in  the  family  of  the 
Christian  home;  which  was  brightened  and  sanctified  by  all 
the  holy  relations  of  daughter  and  wife  and  mother. 

" '  2.  Blessed  be  thou,  O  Lord  our  God,  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  that 
thou  hast  not  made  me  a  slave. 

" '  8.  Blessed  be  thou,  O  Lord  our  God,  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  that 
thou  hast  not  made  me  a  woman.'  " 

W.  P.  adds  that,  "  The  thoughtful  Rabbi  who  compiled  the  collection, 
appends  to  the  above  the  best  prayer  of  all : 

"  Let  the  women  say.  Blessed  be  thou,  O  Lord  our  God,  Ruler  of  the 
Universe,  that  thou  hast  made  me  according  to  thy  will.'' 

The  suggestion  of  some  German  critics,  of  the  modern  school,  that 
the  Apostle  himself  shared,  and  often  manifested,  this  Jewish  prejudice 
against  women,  is  not  for  a  moment  to  be  tolerated.  T.  K. 


THE   CHRISTIAN   LIFE.  151 

If  the  Jewish  or  the  Gentile  converts  were  naturally  slow 
to  forget  the  old  habits  and  the  prejudices  of  their  fathers,  or 
if  they  found  this  transition  to  a  complete  equality  of  the 
sexes  in  all  their  church  relations  almost  too  difficult  for 
them  fully  to  comprehend,  we  at  least  in  this  bright  noon- 
day of  the  Gospel  cannot  jDlead  their  excuse.  Many  things 
which  are  but  imperfectly  outlined  in  the  twilight  of  the 
early  dawn,  become  radiantly  clear  to  the  vision  under  a 
meridian  sun ;  and  we  are  thankful  that  the  value  and  the 
power  of  the  public  ministrations  of  Christian  women  in  the 
Gospel  Temperance  work  and  in  the  home  and  foreign  Mis- 
sion fields  of  the  Church,  are  to-day  everywhere  felt  and  ac- 
knowledged, and  that  the  circle  is  daily  widening  of  her 
recognized  social  and  religious  influence. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE.  >s 

The  clear  Gospel  doctrines  and  the  practical  teaching  of 
the  Apostles  and  their  immediate  followers,  which  we  have 
been  reviewing,  produced  their  natural  and  happy  fruits  in 
that  holy  simplicity  and  purity  which  for  the  most  part 
characterized  the  lives  of  the  Primitive  Christian  Believers. 

Those  wise  master-workmen  deemed  it  of  vital  importance 
not  only  to  the  healthful  life  of  the  Church  but  to  the  suc- 
cess of  its  mission  in  the  world,  that  the  new  faith  and  doc- 
trines so  earnestly  proclaimed,  should  be  commended  to  all 
around  through  bright  examples  of  the  blessed  results  of 
their  heartfelt  acceptance  by  the  hearers. 

They  knew  that  a  mere  empty  profession  of  faith  in  the 


152  HISTOKICAL   ESSAYS. 

Gospel  of  Clirist,  without  such  practical  illustration  of  its 
life-giving  and  transforming  power,  would  prove  but  a  dead 
formality;  alike  dangerous  to  the  individual  and  to  the 
Church  in  which  his  membership  and  communion  should  be 
tolerated. 

Hence  from  its  earliest  history,  we  find  the  Apostles  exer- 
cising a  most  vigilant  and  yet  tender  care  in  this  res^Dect ; 
seeking  with  a  godly  jealousy  to  strengthen  it  against  the 
introduction  or  the  sanction  of  the  enervating  indulgences, 
as  well  as  of  the  more  open  vices  of  the  day. 

jN'or  were  they  unmindful  of  those  inconsistencies  on  the 
part  even  of  true  Christian  professors,  or  those  compromises 
with  a  worldly  spirit,  which  would  tend  to  paralyze  their 
spiritual  life  and  growth,  or  to  bring  dishonor  u]3on  that 
holy  Name  by  which  they  had  been  called. 

It  is  instructive  to  note  how  amid  all  their  outward  trials, 
both  of  adversity  and  of  worldly  prosperity,  this  watchful 
care  over  its  members  is  manifest  in  the  Church  records,  for 
generations  after  the  removal  of  its  first  Teachers.  Even 
when  it  seemed  as  though  that  pure  spiritual  discernment 
and  simple  apprehension  of  the  truths  of  Christ's  Gospel 
which  prevailed  so  generally  in  its  earliest  days  had  been  in 
measure  lost,  we  still  find  touching  evidences  of  a  minute 
inspection  of  details  as  to  the  practical  life  of  its  members, 
carefully  maintained  for  a  long  time  in  its  disciplinary  pro- 
ceedings; the  true  value  of  such  Church  oversight  seeming, 
however,  to  keep  retrograde  pace  with  the  declension  of  its 
own  spii'itual  life  and  power.  Yet  it  was  not  without  a  cer- 
tain influence  for  good,  even  in  that  imperfect  stage  of  its 


THE   CJIKISTIAN    LIFK.  153 

exercise,  although  of  far  greater  vahie  in  the  brighter  ages 
of  pure  faith  and  doctrine  we  are  no^v  considering. 

We  read  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Covenant,  that  "  the 
Law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul;''  and  yet 
more  marvellous  and  world-wide  promises  and  powers  are 
attached  to  the  reception  of  the  Gospel,  under  the  New 
Covenant  dispensation. 

.While,  however,  the  Gospel  net  is  still  "  gathering  in,  both 
good  and  bad,"  there  will  of  necessity  be  continual  imper- 
fections in  the  Church  of  Christ  on  earth.  It  was  so  with 
the  Corinthian  and  other  congregations  in  the  days  of  the 
Ai^ostles  who  gathered  them,  and  so  it  has  been  ever  since. 
What  tliey  did,  every  faithful  minister  of  the  same  everlast- 
ing Gosi3el  which  they  preached  must  steadfastly  do,  "  re- 
prove, rebuke,  exhort,  with  all  patience  and  long-suffering;" 
and  with  a  personal  fidelity  to  the  truth  which  will  enable 
him  not  only  to  point  to  a  better  life  but  to  lead  the  way. 

It  is  his  privilege  and  duty  to  declare  to  the  people  from 
an  assured  experience  and  without  boasting,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  is  not  only  "  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  {comjyletehjY 
all  that  come  unto  God  by  Him,"  but  that  He  is  "  able  to 
keep  them  from  falling,  and  to  present  them  faultless  before 
the  iDresence  of  His  glory  with  exceeding  joy."  Where  the 
ministers  or  the  congregations  fall  short  of  this  high  stand- 
ard in  Christ,  they  "fall  short  of  His  glory,"  and  of  their 
own  privileged  and  rightful  standing  in  Him;  even  short  of 
"  the  fulness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ." 

*  ]\ry  friend  James  Wood,  A.M.,  of  Mt.  Kisco,  N.  Y.,  to  whom  I  am  ^ 

greatly  indebted  for  a  careful  revi.sion  of  these  E.ssays,  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  Greek  phrase,  f/f  rd  TTavTuSm;  {Ihbreicn^  vii.  25)  here 


154  IIISTOKIOAL    ESSAYS. 


>• 


PEACE   A^STD    GOOD-WILL   TO   MEN. 

Perhaps  the  most  marked  and  universal  change  manifested 
in  the  lives,  as  well  as  in  the  deaths,  of  the  early  Christian 
converts  was  expressed  by  that  simple  word  so  commonly  in 
use  among  them,  Peace. 

It  was  inscribed  on  hundreds  of  their  tombstones,  in  the 
Catacombs  and  in  their  burying  places  elsewhere,  telling  of 
that  Divine  peace  which  had  irradiated  their  countenances 
and  overflowed  their  hearts,  amid  the  agonies  of  a  bloody  or 
fiery  martyrdom, — and  into  which  it  was  believed  they  had 
now  everlastingly  entered. 

Moreover  this  Heavenly  Peace  evidently  clothed  their 
spirits  and  animated  their  daily  lives  not  only  iuAvardly 
toward  God,  but  manifestly  to  all  around  them;  even 
toward  those  enemies  who  had  cruelly  wronged  or  perse- 
cuted them.     Many  testimonies  *  are  recorded  by  the  early 

rendered  "completeli/,'"  has  in  the  original  a  wider  signification,  and  a 
primary  reference  to  time,  reaching  to  every  extremity  and  to  tlie 
latest  ]Deriod  of  life. 

In  this  dual  interpretation,  Scott  and  some  other  Commentators  agree. 

Dr.  Wm.  L.  Pearson,  while  quoting  the  comment  of  Prof.  Franz 
Delitzsch,  of  Leipzig,  on  this  passage,  viz. : 

" 'Eif  TO  TTwreAff,  perfectly,  completely,  to  the  very  end;  but  toithout 
necessarily  any  reference  to  time,''— yet  adds  his  own  decided  judg- 
ment in  favor  of  James  Wood's  counnent;  "  But  while  to  the  very  end; 
is  the  thought,  both  as  to  entirety  and  as  to  time,  the  latter  idea  clearly 
predominates;  as  the  following  expressions  show.  "A  Priest  forever.— 
'•  an  unchangeable  Priesthood,"—"  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession," 
etc. 

The  "Speaker's  Commentary "  and  the  marginal  note  of  the  R.  V. 
confirm  the  interpretation  given  in  the  text;  and  with  these  explana- 
tions, I  leave  it  unchanged.  "  The  commandment  (or  word),  of  the 
Lord  is  exceeding  broad." — T.  K. 

*  Justin  Martyr,  in  his  first  official  Apology  for  the  Christians  (writ- 
ten A.D.  140),  thus  certifies  to  their  general  character- 

"  We,  who  once  hated  and  murdered  one  another,  do  now  since  the 


THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  loi^ 

Fathers  and  Historians  of  the  Church,  to  this  wonderful 
change  in  the  liearts  and  lives  of  the  Primitive  Christians. 
Even  their  enemies  bore  witness  to  this  meek  and  forgiving 
disposition,  which  were  evidently  deemed  in  those  days  a 
reproach  and  dishonor  rather  than  a  virtue. 


* 


appearance  of  Christ,  live  together  in  harmony  even  with  strangers ; 
■we  pray  for  our  enemies, — we  seek  to  convince  those  who  hate  us  with- 
out cause,  so  that  they  may  order  their  hves  according  to  Christ's  glo- 
rious doctrine,  and  attain  to  the  joyful  hope  of  receiving  the  like  bless- 
ings with  us,  from  God  the  Lord  of  all."    {l.st  Apol.  XIV.) 

Even  in  the  time  of  Origen  (A.d.  230)  he  could  thus  confidently 
appeal  to  Celsus;  "Inquire  into  the  lives  of  some  amongst  us,— com- 
pare their  former  with  their  present  course,  and  you  will  find  in  what 
wickedness  they  lived  before  they  accepted  the  Christian  doctrine. 
But  since  they  entered  into  it,  how  gentle  and  temperate,  how  grave 
and  steady  they  have  become.  .  .  Some  who  are  not  able  to  defend 
by  words  their  profession,  do  yet  demonstrate  it  by  their  honest  lives 
and  virtuous  actions.  Being  buflfeted  they  strike  not  again ;  nor  sue 
them  at  law  who  despoil  and  plunder  them.  They  give  liberally  to 
them  that  ask,  and  love  their  neighbors  as  themselves.  .  .  .  And  this 
they  do  because  they  know  that  the  God  who  created  the  world  will 
be  their  Judge,  and  will  recompense  them  hereafter  for  all  that  they 
may  suffer  in  obedience  to  His  commands." 

*  Cyprian,  writing  (about  A.D.  250)  not  long  after  his  conversion, 
thus  beautifully  describes  the  great  change  it  wrought  in  his  own  heart 
and  life : 

"  I  was  lying  in  darkness,  tossed  l)y  the  waves  of  the  world,  ignorant 
of  the  way  of  life,— estranged  from  truth  and  from  the  light.  What 
Divine  mercy  promised  for  my  salvation,  seemed  to  me  a  hard  and  im- 
penetrable thing;  that  a  man  should  be  born  again,  and  Avhile  his 
bodily  nature  remained  the  same,  become  in  soul  and  disposition  an- 
other man.  .  .  .  But  after  the  stains  of  my  former  life  had  been 
w^ished  away  by  the  water  of  regeneration,  light  was  shed  upon  my 
heart,  now  freed  from  guilt,  made  clean  and  pure." 

When  I  breathed  the  breath  of  Heaven,  and  was  changed  by  the 
second  birth  into  a  new  man,  all  my  doubts  were  at  once  strangely 
resolved.  That  lay  open  which  had  been  shut  up  to  me,  that  was  all 
light  where  I  had  seen  nothing  but  darkness,  that  became  easy  which 
was  before  so  hard ;  practicable,  which  .seemed  before  impossible;  .  .  . 
for  the  life  I  had  now  begun  to  live  was  the  commencement  of  a  life 
for  God;  a  life  qiaickened  by  the  Holy  Spirit."  .  .  .  "From  God, 
from  God,  I  repeat,  proceeds  all  we  can  now  do;  from  Him  we  derive 
our  life  and  power." — {Ad  JDoiiat.) 


156  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

They  interpreted  literally  the  commands  of  their  Lord 
and  Saviour  and  the  teaching  of  His  Apostles  that  they  were 
to  love  and  pray  for  all  men ;  and  that,  especially  they  were 
to  assist  and  comfort  the  brethren,  those  who  were  of  the 
"  household  of  faith,"  the  "  like  precious  faith  "  which  they 
themselves  enjoyed. 

During  this  period  it  evidently  was  not  deemed  possible 
that  a  ChrisUan  could  feel  at  liberty  to  figlif,  or  to  seek 
deliberately  to  "  destroy  men's  lives,"  even  at  the  command 
of  his  earthly  Sovereign;  whom  he  honored  and  obeyed 
always  and  only  when  it  did  not  conflict  with  his  paramount 
obligations  to  Him  whom  he  worshipped  as  the  King  of 
Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords.  There  are  many  records  preserved, 
both  in  the  accusations  of  their  enemies  in  this  regard  and 
in  the  apologies  of  their  friends,  which  place  this  general 
question  beyond  controversy  and  which  are  too  well  known 
and  too  numerous  to  need  quotation  here. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  inferred  that  in  the  history  of  the 
Primitive  Church  there  were  no  exceptions  to  this  almost 
universal  record.  We  find  them,  for  example,  where  the 
glad-tidings  of  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  had 
reached  the  enlisted  soldiers  of  the  Roman  army,"  or  the 
military  cairtives  and  slaves  of  the  Empire ;  or  among  those 

*  Neander  says  (Hist.  Christ'y,  p.  273),  of  this  class :  "  Tertullian  him- 
self, that  zealous  antagonist  of  the  military  profession  amongst  Chris- 
tians, believed  it  could  not  be  wholly  condemned  in  the  case  where  such 
as  had  become  Christians  while  they  were  soldiers,  persevered  in  the 
calling  they  had  once  chosen,  so  far  as  it  could  be  done  consistently 
with  their  steadfastness  in  the  faith."— (Z)e  Mil.  Cor.) 

But  how  far  was  that?    "  Wear  thy  sword  so  long  as  thou  canst," 
,  was  the  answer  of  George  Fox  to  William  Penn,  after  his  conversion. 
It  was  not  long  that  he  felt  willing  to  wear  it.  T.  K. 


THE   CHRISTIAN   LIFE.  lo7 

who,  from  any  cause,  had  but  imperfectly  apprehended  its 
spirituality  and  fulness.  Such  exceptions  Avould  only  seem 
to  make  stronger  the  general  rule  of  true  Christian  doctrine 
and  practice  in  this  respect. 

Afterward,  as  the  simplicity  and  purity  of  the  Church 
declined,  with  the  growth  of  its  temporal  prosperity  and 
power  under  the  Emperor  Constantine  and  his  successors, 
we  find  that  the  clear  injunctions  and  restraints  of  our  Lord 
and  His  Apostles  on  this  and  other  points,  both  of  doctrine 
and  practice,  were  gradually  relaxed  and  almost  lost  sight 
of;  until  the  maxims  of  the  world  had  largely  transformed 
and  eventually  almost  supplanted  the  pure  doctrines  and 
precepts  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  It  is  sad  to  record  this 
defection,  but  sadder  still  to  acknowledge  that  on  this  great 
question,  at  least,  it  largely  prevails  in  the  Christian  Church 
to-day. 

THE  THEATRE  AND  THE  ARENA. 

The  public  spectacular  shows  of  the  Amphitheatre  and 
the  Arena,  most  popular  at  that  period,  were  so  generally 
interwoven  with  idolatrous  customs  and  ceremonies,  or  with 
the  bloody  sacrifices  of  victims  condemned  to  be  thrown  to 
the  lions  and  other  wild  beasts,  or  the  cruel  combats  of  the 
Gladiators, 

"  Butchered  to  make  a  Roman  holiday," 

that  the  voluntary  presence  of  any  member  of  the  Christian 
communities  at  such  brutal  scenes  was  absolutely  forbidden 
by  the  Church, — and  constituted  from  the  first  a  ground  of 
disciplinary  action  and  of  final  excommunication  if  persisted 


V 


V 


^«v 


158  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

in.  The  Coliseum  at  Rome  was  arranged  to  accommodate 
comfortably  more  than  eighty  thousand  spectators;  the 
seats  of  the  Patricians  and  Plebeians  being  separately 
marked  off  and  numbered  around  the  rising  steps  of  the 
vast  Amphitheatre,  as  its  well-preserved  ruins  still  show.  In 
the  provincial  cities  of  the  Em-i)ire  these  Public  Arenas 
varied  in  size  from  a  capacity  of  five  to  thirty  or  forty  thou- 
sand people. 

Many  of  the  early  Christians  were  indeed  present  at  these 
bloody  spectacles,  in  the  first  three  centuries  of  their  his- 
tory ;  but  it  was  in  the  Arena  as  victims,  not  around  it  as 
pleasure  seekers  that  they  were  found. 

We  find,  also,  that  the  consistent  members  of  the  Church 
avoided  and  condemned  even  those  dramatic  entertainments 
and  exhibitions  which  seemed  of  a  less  degrading*  and 
brutal  character;  though  its  lukewarm  and  worldly  members 
contended  earnestly  for  them  as  harmless  amusements. 

It  is  wonderful  to  find,  in  the  special  pleading  of  those 
early  times,  almost  a  counterpart  of  the  pleas  and  excuses 
of  that  class  of  professors  in  our  own  day,  for  similar  indul- 

*  Neander  gives  expression  to  the  general  testimony  of  ancient  writ- 
ers on  this  subject ; 

"  But  it  was  not  the  participation  in  these  cruel  sports  alone,  which 
to  the  Christians  appeared  incompatible  with  the  nature  of  their  call- 
ing. The  same  censure  extended  to  all  the  public  exhibitions  of  that 
period ;  to  the  pantomimes,  the  comedies,  and  tragedies,  the  chariot 
and  foot  races,  and  the  various  amusements  of  the  circus  and  the 
theatre.  Such  was  the  prevailing  fondness  of  the  Romans  at  that  day 
for  theatrical  entertainments,  that  many  were  known  to  be  Christians, 
simply  from  the  fact  that  they  absented  themselves  wholly  from  the 
theatre."— (^w^.  ChrisVy,  p.  264.) 

Tertullian,  (De  Spectaculis,  c.  24)  expressly  confirms  this  last  state- 
ment :  "  Hinc  vel  maxime  ethnici  intelligunt  factum  Christianum,  de 
rejjudio  spectaculorum." 


THE   CHRISTIAN   LIFE.  159 

gences :  "  We  need  some  innocent  recreation  both  of  body 
and  mind,"  they  said.  "  We  cannot  always  be  centering  our 
attention  on  serious  subjects."  "These  chariot  races  are 
harmless."  "  Such  fine  tragedies  are  instructive  and  elevat- 
ing, the  comedies  are  diverting;  and  even  dancing  is  not 
without  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures."  ...  "  They  do 
not  anywhere  forbid  such  amusements  and  the  Apostle 
Paul  evidently  was  familiar  with  them." 

The  early  Christian  Fathers  had  no  patience  with  such 
casuistry. 

"  Though  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  there  may  be  found  no 
express  prohibition  of  theatrical  exhibitions,"  replied  Tertul- 
lian,  "  yet  they  contain  the  general  princii)les  from  which 
this  prohibition  follows  of  itself.  All  that  is  there  said,  gen- 
erally, against  the  '  lust  of  the  flesh '  and  '  the  lust  of  the  eye,' 
must  be  applied  also  to  this  x)articular  kind  of  lust.  .  .  ." 
Again :  "  Tell  me,  pray,  how  many  other  desires  than  that 
which  was  the  desire  of  the  Apostle,  '  to  depart  from  the 
world  and  to  be  with  the  Lord,'  should  a  Christian  indulge? 
Our  j)leasures  are  in  the  direction  of  our  wishes.  Why  are 
you  not  satisfied  with  the  pleasures,  so  many  and  so  great, 
which  are  bestowed  upon  you  by  the  Lord  ?  For  what  is 
there  more  joyous,  than  reconciliation  with  God  your 
Father, — than  the  revelation  of  His  truth, — the  forgiveness 
of  our  past  sins  ?  What  greater  pleasure  than  the  dropping 
of  such  worldly  pleasures,  the  true  freedom,  the  pure  con- 
science, the  guiltless  life,  the  fearlessness  of  death"  {De 
Spectaculls,  c.  29). 

Cyprian  also,  thus  declared  his  solemn  judgment  of  those 


\ 


.         160  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

/ 

/  who  misquoted  the  Apostle's  vivid  illustrations  from  famil- 
iar scenes,  understood  by  all,  of  Christian  courage  and  dis- 
cii:)line : 

"  I  can  truly  say  it  were  better  that  such  persons  knew 
nothing  of  the  Scriptures,  than  to  read  them  thus.  For  the 
language  and  metaphors  used  to  exhort  men  to  the  virtues 
of  the  Gospel,  they  pervert  to  the  defence  of  vice.  Let  such 
one  take  counsel  of  his  reason  and  his  conscience,  as  to  Avhat 
Scripture  really  teaches." 

Thus  History  repeats  itself  through  the  changing  ages, 
while  the  Truth  of  God  remains  unchanged,  from  age  to  age. 


)C 


PLAiisrisrEss  of  dress. 


This  separation  on  the  part  of  the  Primitive  Christians, 
from  the  sinful  pleasures  and  enervating  customs  of  the 
world  around  them,  was  closely  associated  with  a  remark- 
able simplicity  of  apx3earance  and  manners. 

Indeed  we  find  from  extant  records  that  their  deliverance 
from  the  bondage  of  fashionable  constraint  as  to  the  prevail- 
ing styles  of  dress  and  address,  was  considered  to  be  largely 
promoted  by  such  a  consistent  withdrawal  from  all  attend- 
ance at  the  Heathen  Temples,  or  the  public  shows  and  re- 
sorts, where  displays  of  extravagant  and  often  immodest 
apparel  were  most  observable.* 

*  Tertullian  thus  speaks  of  the  enormous  extravagances  of  the  Em- 
pire :  "A  great  estate  is  drawn  out  of  a  httle  pocket.  It  is  nothing  to 
expend  many  thousand  (Latin  rlecies  sestertkun,  which  Dr.  Cave  esti- 
mates to  equal  in  Enghsh  money,  £78,112),  upon  one  string  of  pearls;  a 
weak  tender  neck  can  manage  to  carry  about  whole  woods  and  lord- 
ships ;  vast  sums  of  money  borrowed  of  the  banker,  and  noted  in  his 
account  book  to  be  paid  every  month  with  interest,  are  weighed  at  the 
beam  of  a  thin  slender  ear.     So  great  is  the  strength  of  pride  and  ambi- 


THE   CHRISTIATs"    LIFE.  IGl 

They  were  encouraged  to  this  holy  simplicity  by  the 
thouglit  that  in  the  X)erforniance  of  their  daily  Christian 
duties  among  their  own  people,  or  even  of  any  charitable 
offices  among  the  Heathen  around  them,  they  would  most 
glorify  God  and  edify  those  to  whose  needs  they  ministered 
by  a  sober  garb  and  modest  demeanor.* 

tion  that  even  the  weak  feeble  body  of  one  woman  shall  be  able  to 
carry  the  weight  and  substance  of  such  vast  sums  taken  up  at  usury." 
—{De  Cult.  Fern. ;  L.  i.  c.  8.) 

Clement  of  Alexandria  complains  that : 

"  Whereas  all  other  creatures,  birds  and  beasts,  are  content  with 
their  own  natural  beauty  and  colors,  woman  only  thinks  herself  so  de- 
formed that  there  is  need  to  repair  the  defect  by  external  bought  and 
borrowed  beauty,  and  by  infinite  arts  and  costly  dresses,  and  every- 
thing that  is  sti-ange  and  excessive  they  put  off  shame  and  modesty." — 
{Fed.  III.,  2.) 

Theodoret  relates  that  his  own  mother,  in  her  youthful  days,  sought 
from  a  noted  Christian  physician  a  cure  for  a  distemper  in  her  eyes ; 
and  to  impress  him  with  her  dignity  had  arrayed  herself  in  her  "  rich- 
est robes  and  pendants  and  chains  of  pearl  and  whatever  could  render 
her  fine  and  siilendid." 

The  uncompromising  ascetic  gently  but  firmly  reproved  her : 

"  Tell  me,  daughter,  suppose  an  excellent  artist  having  drawn  a  pic- 
ture according  to  all  the  rules  of  art  should  hang  it  to  view,  and  a  rude 
and  unskilful  bungler  coming  by,  should  attempt  to  amend  it, — to 
draw  the  eyebrows  to  a  greater  length,  make  the  complexion  whiter, 
and  add  more  color  to  the  cheeks.  Would  not  its  true  author  be  justly  ^ 
angry  that  his  work  was  thus  disparaged?  And  can  we  think  that  the 
great  Creator  of  the  world,  the  Maker  and  Former  of  our  nature,  is  not 
justly  displeased  at  these  attempted  improvements  of  His  handiwork?" 
The  young  woman,  he  says,  deeply  felt  the  holy  man's  reproof,  and 
returned  home,  doubly  cured  of  her  distemper  and  of  her  vanity, — and 
led  ever  afterward  a  most  humble  and  pious  life. 

*Tertullian  in  a  special  treatise  on  this  subject  makes  an  earnest 
appeal  to  the  Christian  women  of  his  day  (a.d.  200) : 

"  What  reason  have  you  to  go  publicly  decorated,  seeing  that  you 
are  removed  from  tho.se  things  that  would  require  it?  For  you  neither 
go  about  to  the  Temples  nor  to  the  Public  shows,  nor  do  you  recognize 
the  Heathen  feast  days. 

"All  such  pomps  are  designed  only  to  gratify  the  wish  to  see  and  to 

be  seen ;  or  to  indulge  extravagance,  and  our  appetite  for  glory.  .  .  . 

But  you  have  no  cause  for  appearing  in  public,  except  such  as  are  of  a 

grave  nature : — to  visit  a  sick  brother  or  to  Lear  the  Word  of  God. 

U 


/ 


162  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

The  same  result  seemed  naturally  to  come  about  with  the 
Christian  converts  of  the  other  sex.  Their  enemies  charged 
upon  them  as  a  reproach  that  not  only  their  social  status 
was  at  once  lowered  to  the  level  of  the  poorest  and  most 
degraded  of  the  new  sect,  but  that  this  retrograde  step  was 
very  soon  followed  by  the  altered  style  of  their  daily  dress ; 
the  flowing  and  graceful  patrician  robe,  universal  among  the 
higher  classes  under  the  Roman  Empire,  being  exchanged 
for  the  unseemly  cloak  or  large  cape  worn  by  the  common 
laborer;  so  that  the  phrase  grew  to  be  proverbial,  "  a  toga 
ad  'pallium,^''  on  -hearing  that  such  a  one  had  become  a 
Christian.* 

These  little  heeded,  however,  the  world's  scorn  or  con- 
tempt, as  they  had  lightly  esteemed  its  friendship  and  its 
glory,  for  their  Lord  and  Saviour's  sake. 

Looking  at  the  exceeding  recompense  of  their  reward, 
they  saw  not  what  those  around  them  seemed  most  to  regard : 

"  Their  eyes 
Were  with  their  heart,  and  that  was  far  away." 

There  was  nothing  new  or  strange  in  this  necessary  isola- 
tion of  the  Early  Christians  from  a  "  world  lying  in  the 
wicked  one  "  around  them.  It  has  ever  been  thus  with  the 
faithful  followers  of  the  Lord  in  all  ages.  They  have  "  con- 
fessed that  they  were  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the  earth," 

These  are  serious  and  sacred  occasions,  which  require  no  extraordinary 
and  flowing  dress,  but  a  becoming  one. 

"  And  if  the  duty  of  friendship  and  kind  offices  to  the  Heathen  calls 
you,  why  not,  so  much  the  more,  appear  in  your  own  proper  armor  ? 
Let  there  be  an  evident  distinction  between  the  Handmaids  of  God  and 
those  of  the  devil." — (De  Cultu  Feminarum,  Lib.  II.,  c.  11.) 

*  See  Minucius  Felix  and  others. 


THE   CHRISTIAN   LIFE.  163 

seeking  after  a  country  of  tlieir  own:  "For  if  indeed  they 
had  been  mindful  of  tliat  country  from  which  they  went 
out,  they  would  have  had  opportunity  to  return.  But  now 
they  desire  a  better  country,  that  is  a  Heavenly ;  wherefore 
God  is  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God,  for  He  liatli  pre- 
pared for  them  a  city"  {Hebreios,  xi.  13-16,  R.  Y.). 

Although  in  our  day  the  profession  of  Christianity  pre- 
vails so  largely  over  the  civilized  earth,  yet  the  "  god  of 
this  world "  is  the  same  as  he  was  then,  an  enemy  of  the 
one  true  God  of  Heaven  and  Earth ;  and  all  undue  "  love  of 
the  world,"'  or  of  its  vain  fashions  which  "  j)erish  with  the 
using,"  or  the  desire  for  its  fading  glory,  are  still  at  variance 
with  the  kingdom  and  the  precepts  of  its  rightful  Lord. 

His  Avord  to  His  disciples  must  therefore  continue  un- 
changed, until  that  happy  day  when  it  shall  be  said  ^'  the 
Kingdom  of  this  world  has  become  the  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  of  His  Christ "  (R,  V.).  "  Come  out  from  among 
them  and  be  ye  separate,  and  touch  no  unclean  thing 
{dxaOdprov  wliat  is  uot  pure) ;  and  I  Avill  receive  you  and  will 
be  to  you  {e\g,  as)  a  Father,  and  ye  shall  be  to  me  (e':?,  as) 
Sons  and  Daughters,  saith  the  Lord  Almighty  "  (  ^  Cor.  vi. 
17, 18,  R.  Y.). 

The  primitive  Christians  were,  however,  far  from  any  affec- 
tation of  singularity,  and  they  repudiated  the  idea  of  espe- 
cially enjoining  upon  their  members  a  peculiar  garb  or  an 
ascetic  life.  The  simple  abstinence  from  extravagant  adorn- 
ment, and  from  all  the  excesses,  as  well  as  the  continual 
changes  of  the  fashions  of  the  hour,  gradually  brought  about 
such  a   difference,  even  from  the  more   plebeian  garb   in 


i 


164  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

vogue   from   time  to   time,  that  it  was  "^apparent  at  first 
siglit.* 

*  Justin  Martyr  (a.d.  140)  thus  describes  their  course  of  life  and 
principles  of  action :  "  Christians  dwell  in  their  own  cities,  but  as  ten- 
ants and  foreigners;  they  have  many  things  in  common  with  other 
men,  as  fellow-citizens,  and  yet  endure  all  things  as  strangers.  Every 
foreign  region  is  their  country  and  every  country  is  foreign  to  them ; 
,  .  .  they  are  in  the  flesh  but  do  not  live  after  the  flesh,— they  dwell 
upon  earth  but  their  conversation  is  in  Heaven."  He  adds  that  they 
"  are  not  in  anything  affected  or  fantastic,  and  generally  follow  the 
customs  of  their  country; "  while  in  " moderation  of  clothing  and  diet 
and  all  outward  affairs  of  life,  they  show  the  excellent  and  admirable 
constitution  of  their  discipline  and  communion."— (^j^wiZe  Ad  Diog.,  S. 
55.) 

The  early  Friends,  for  the  first  fifty  years  of  their  history,  knew 
nothing  of  any  required  formality  of  dress.  Among  many  evidences 
of  this,  it  is  only  necessary  to  present  the  following  extract  from  a  gen- 
eral epistle  of  Margaret  Fox,— written  in  1698,— earnestly  protesting 
against  the  first  manifestations  of  such  a  constraint.  This  testimony  is 
most  important  and  conclusive,  not  only  on  account  of  the  sound  judg- 
ment and  great  influence  of  the  writer,  but  because  it  certifies  to  the 
fact  that  up  to  that  date  no  such  question  had  been  raised  in  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends.  George  Fox,  Robert  Barclay,  Isaac  Penington,  and 
most  of  its  early  pioneers  and  authorized  expositors,  had  for  years 
passed  away  from  earth,  when  this  ringing  protest  was  sounded : 

"  Dear  Friends,  Brethren  and  Sisters, 

"  Let  us  all  take  heed  of  touching  anything  like  the  ceremonies  of 
the  Jews,  for  that  was  displeasing  unto  Christ ;  for  He  testified  against 
their  outside  practices,  and  told  them  of  their  Long  Robes  and  their 
Broad  Phylacteries.  .  .  .  We  are  under  the  Gospel  leading  and  teach- 
ing. .  .  .  Legal  Ceremonies  are  far  from  Gospel  Freedom.  .  .  .  It's 
a  dangerous  thing  to  lead  young  Friends  much  into  the  observation  of 
outward  things  which  may  easily  be  done ;  they  can  soon  get  into  an 
outward  Garb,  to  be  all  alike  outwardly,  but  this  will  not  make  them 
true  Christians.  ...  I  would  be  loth  to  have  a  hand  in  such  a 
thing.  The  Lord  preserve  us  that  we  do  no  hurt  to  God's  work :  we 
have  lived  quietly  and  peaceably  thus  far,  and  it  is  not  for  God's  serv- 
ice to  make  breaches."  MarOxARET  Fox. 

Swarthmore— the  4th  month,  1698. 

{See  Life  M.  Fox,  Lond.  Ed.,  1710,  p.  535.) 

A  misapprehension  has  arisen  on  this  subject  through  the  published 
statement  of  one  of  George  Keith's  contemporaries  that  in  his  later  life 
he  threw  off  "the  appearance  of  a  Friend."  This  had  no  reference, 
however,  to  his  daily  garb,  but  to  his  assumption  in  the  pulpit  of  the 


THE   CHRISTIAN    LIFE,  165 

SIMPLICITY   OF   LANGUAGE.  / 

The  same  lioly  restraint  on  the  part  of  the  Early  Chris- 
tians was  manifest  in  their  refusing  a  compliance  with  the 
idolatrous  flatteries  and  the  colloquial  license  of  the  day, 
and  their  adojDtion  of  simple  forms  of  salutation  and  of  ex- 
pression in  their  daily  intercourse. 

There  is  scarcely  any  outward  manifestation  of  a  change 
in  the  associations  and  habits  of  our  lives  more  remarkable  y 

than  the  certain  change  that  follows  it,  not  only  in  our 
thoughts  and  in  the  subjects  of  our  conversation,  but  in  the 
very  language  through  which  they  are  conveyed.  This  nat- 
urally becomes  refined  and  elevated,  or  coarse  and  degraded, 
as  an  unavoidable  result  of  the  new  influences  by  which  we 
are  surrounded. 

Even  in  the  ordinary  progress  of  our  lives  a  gi^adual  change 
of  language  is  silently  going  on.  It  has  been  noticed  by  the 
Missionaries  to  Patagonia  and  other  Heathen  countries,  that 
these  variations  are  often  so  rapid  and  so  great  among  savage 
tribes,  that  their  lexicons  have  needed  a  complete  revisal 
within  an  interval  of  ten  years. 

Max  Miiller,  Professor  of  Language  at  the  University  of 
Oxford,  and  the  flrst  living  authority  on  this  subject,  calls 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  patois,  or  provincial  language, 
of  neighboring  states  or  districts  varies  wonderfully  with 
those  physical  changes  produced  by  the  accidents  of  differ- 

priestly  robes  of  the  Church  of  England,  after  his  ordination.  Sewel 
relates  that  "  even  by  the  Baptists,  who  formerly  sided  with  him,  he 
was  looked  upon  with  disdain  and  rejected  for  iaeari)ig  a  Clergy- 
man's gown.'''— {See  "History  of  Quakers,''  London  Edit,  1733,  p.  688.) 


/ 


\ 


166  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

ent  localities.  A  range  of  mountains,  for  example,  all  sunlit 
and  sheltered  on  the  southern  side,  while  shadowing  the 
country  on  ihe  exposed  northern  slope,  will  so  alter  the 
character  of  the  crops,  the  direction  of  their  markets,  and 
the  consequent  pursuits  and  associations  of  the  people,  that 
soon  the  very  language  of  the  children  who  left  their  parents 
less  than  a  generation  ago,  to  settle  on  the  other  side,  be- 
comes entirely  changed  and  mutually  unintelligible. 

So  with  the  "  language  of  Canaan."  It  is  gained  and  re- 
tained, or  lost,  by  just  such  apparently  trifling  conditions  of 
our  outward  life  and  associations. 

"  For  then  will  I  turn  to  the  peoples  a  pure  language," 
was  the  promise  of  the  Lord,  in  His  jirophetic  revelation  of 
the  blessings  which  He  would  pour  out  upon  them  in  these 
latter  days. 

With  a  more  profound  and  universal  meaning  than  Bede 
intended,  in  his  beautiful  comment  on  the  miracle  of  tongues 
at  Pentecost,  when  the  varied  nationalities  represented,  all 
equally  heard  and  understood  the  one  speaker  as  though  he 
had  used  their  own  dialect,  it  may  be  truly  said  that 

"  The  Church  in  her  humility  re-formed  the  unity  of  lan- 
guage scattered  by  the  pride  of  Babel." 

The  sweet  and  holy  influences  following  a  true  conception 
of  the  loving  Fatherhood  of  God,  and  the  close  family  rela- 
tions of  His  redeemed  children,  found  fitting  expression  in 
their  daily  intercourse  with  one  another.  The  Christian 
slave  was  their  brother;  the  poor  and  the  rich  met  together 
equally  before  God.  They  were  ever  mindful  of  His  pres- 
ence, and  earnest  in  their  desire  that  "  the  words  of  their 


THE   CITRIRTIAlSr   LIFE.  167 

mouth  and  the  meditation  of  their  hearts"  might  be  "ac- 
ceptable in  His  sight,"  "  their  strength  and  their  Redeemer." 

OATHS. 

Language  being  the  vehicle  of  thought  and  the  medium 
of  intercourse  with  their  fellow-men,  the  primitive  Christians 
were  careful  to  maintain  a  perfect  truthfulness  in  all  their 
statements,  even  when  their  lives  might  be  saved  by  prevari- 
cation or  sometimes  by  a  slight  mental  reservation. 

Justin  Martyr  (a.d.  140)  testifies:  "When  we  are  most 
se^^erely  examined  we  count  it  imj^ious  in  any  way  to  dis- 
semble the  truth,  as  we  know  the  contrary  is  accejDtable  unto 
God:  and  although  we  could  when  questioned  evade  or  deny 
it,  yet  we  scorn  to  live  upon  any  terms  by  wiiich  we  must 
be  forced  to  maintain  our  lives  by  lies  and  false  appear- 
ances." 

During  the  period  of  Early  Church  History  which  we  are 
especially  considering,  the  first  two  centuries  of  its  existence, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  all  oaths  w^ere  considered  incon- 
sistent with  the  Christian  profession,  both  by  reason  of  the 
direct  commands  of  their  Lord  and  Saviour  and  of  His 
Apostles,  and  because  the  very  fact  of  such  a  tender  was 
accounted  a  disparagement  of  their  own  fidelity  and  truth. 

Of  this  there  are  many  evidences,  which  are  too  familiar 
to  need  any  large  quotation  here. 

Clement  of  Alexandria  (a.d.  194)  will  perhaps  sufficiently 
represent  the  general  testimony  of  the  writers  of  this  period 
witli  regard  especially  to  judicial  oaths.  "  An  oath  is  a  de- 
terminative assertion  with  the  calling  upon  God  to  witness 


> 


\ 


168  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

for  the  triitli  of  it.  How  can  any  one  that  is  faithful  so  far 
render  himself  unfaithful  or  unworthy  of  belief  as  to  need 
an  oath,  and  not  rather  make  the  course  of  his  life  a  testi- 
mony to  him  as  firm  and  positive  as  an  oath,  and  demonstrate 
the  truth  of  his  assertion  by  the  constant  and  immutable 
tenor  of  his  words  and  actions,  either  by  way  of  affirmation 
or  denial.  It  is  enough,  therefore,  for  every  good  man  to 
give  this  assurance,  /  speak  truly,  to  satisfy  any  one  of  the 
certainty  of  what  he  says  "  {Stromat.  I.,  p.  7  c.  8). 

Yet  on  this  plain  point  of  Christian  ethics,  as  with  the 
greater  question  of  War,  the  prevailing  doctrine  and  practice 
of  the  Church  were  not  even  then  absolutely  universal.  In 
the  Third  century  and  thereafter,  the  exceptions  were  more 
numerous  and  the  diversity  of  judgment  in  regard  to  legal 
oaths  became  more  apparent  on  every  hand. 

At  length  this  simplicity  of  language,  as  well  as  their  testi- 
mony in  favor  of  universal  peace,  seem  to  have  been  gradu- 
ally lost  sight  of;  and  with  the  growth  of  their  worldly 
prosperity  the  Christians  became  merged  with  the  other 
subjects  of  the  Roman  Empire,  in  submission  to  its  authority 
and  customs,  both  as  to  Oaths  and  War. 

Nor  has  the  Church  to  this  day  recovered  its  lost  ground. 
Its  Historians  and  its  authorized  Teachers  seem  equally  to 
fail  in  a  comprehension  of  its  Founder's  clear  instructions 
on  these  vital  points ;  and  the  lamentable  condition  of  pro- 
fessing Christendom,  in  the  Nineteenth  century  of  its  era, 
bears  witness  to  the  momentous  importance  both  of  the 
truth,  and  of  the  error,  in  regard  to  them. 


THE   CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  169 


THE   FIRST  DAY   OF  THE  "WEEK. 


y 


Tlie  primitive  Christians,  from  the  times  of  the  Apostles, 
were  earnest  and  regular  in  the  observance  of  the  "  First  day 
of  the  week,"  as  a  special  season  of  joyful  worship  and 
thanksgiving.*   They  called  this  '''Tlie  Lord's  day,'''  {y.optaxi^. 

It  was  not,  however,  because  they  attached  any  pre-em- 
inent sanctity  to  that  day  that  the  Gentile  Churches,  (whose 
history  from  their  recognized  establishment,  about  a.d.  50, 
we  are  especially  reviewing),  considered  the  commands  of 
the  ]\Iosaic  Law  in  regard  to  the  Jewish  Sabbath  as  at  all 
obligatory  upon  those  who  were  living  under  the  new  dis- 
pensation of  the  Gosi)el  of  Christ. 

The  Apostle  Paul  had  fully  instructed  them  that,  with 
other  legal  observances  these  "  Sabbath  "  ordinances  unfolded 
but  "a  shadow  of  the  good  things  to  come"  {Col.  ii.  16,  17);  \ 

and  that  now  it  was  their  privilege  to  rejoice  in  a  fulJilment 
of  all  typical  rites  and  shadows,  and  in  a  complete  deliver- 
ance from  the  bondage  of  the  ceremonial  law,  in  the  glori- 
ous liberty  wherewith  Christ  had  made  them  free. 

As  therefore  they  held  that  all  places  were  equally  sacred, 
which  the  Lord  had  hallowed  by  His  presence  in  their  pub- 
lic assemblies  where  they  had  gathered  together  to  worshiiD 
Him  "  in  spirit  and  in  truth,"  so  they  believed  and  pro- 

*ln  the  "  Gejieral  Epistle  of  Bnrnahaf,\"'' which  is  undoubtedly  au- 
thentic, and  which  was  read  in  the  ('hurches  for  the  first  two  centuries, 
as  second  only  in  authority  to  the  canonical  Scriptures,  there  occurs 
this  passage, — after  a  very  strong  statement  of  their  reasons  for  a  non- 
observance  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  : 

We  "  keep  the  Eighth  day  with  gladness,  in  which  Jesus  both  rose 
from  the  dead  and  ascended  manifestly  into  the  Heavens." 

{For  the  whole  argument^  see  "  Epist.  Cath.''''— 15.) 


170  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

claimed  that  all  days  were  alike  holy  in  the  sight  of  God 
and  of  those  who  had  consecrated  their  whole  lives  to  His 
service;  realizing  that  they  were  not  their  own  but  were 
bought  with  a  price  and  were  called  upon  therefore  to  glorify 
their  Lord  and  Redeemer  at  all  times  and  under  all  circum- 
stances of  life. 

The  general  testimony  of  the  best  authorities  upon  this 
interesting  subject  is  sufficiently  expressed  by  Bishop  Light- 
foot,  of  England,  one  of  the  most  learned  and  conscientious 
of  modern  Church  commentators.  His  writings  have  largely 
influenced  the  accepted  judgment  of  Christian  scholars,  on 
various  disputed  points;  and  always  on  the  side  of  the 
spiritual  and  evangelical  truths  of  tlie  Gospel,  as  well  as  of 
the  faithful  interpretation  of  Church  records  in  regard  to 
them.    In  his  essay  on  the  ''  Christian  Ministry  "  (p.  179),  he 

says: 

"  The  kingdom  of  Christ  ...  is  in  the  fullest  sense  free, 
comprehensive,  and  universal.  It  has  no  sacred  days  or 
seasons,  and  no  special  sanctuaries,  because  every  time  and 
every  place  alike  are  holy.  It  recognizes  a  holy  season  ex- 
tending the  whole  year  round,  a  temple  confined  only  by 
the  limits  of  the  habitable  world,  a  priesthood  coextensive 
with  the  race.  ...  It  has  no  sacerdotal  system.  Each  in- 
dividual member  holds  personal  communion  with  its  Divine 
Head.  To  Him  immediately  he  is  responsible  and  from 
Him  directly  he  obtains  pardon  and  derives  strength." 

Bishop  Lightfoot  goes  on  however  to  say,  most  truly: 
"  The  Church  could  not  hold  together  without  officers,  rules 
and  institutions;"  and  that  not  only  a  regularly  approved 


THE   CllKISTlAN    LIFE.  171 

ministry,  but  that  "  appointed  days  and  places  for  worship 
Avere  indispensable."  * 

The  reasons  for  selecting  the  "  I'irst  day  of  the  week ''  for 
especial  religious  observance  on  the  part  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians, have  been  touched  upon  in  an  extract  from  the  Epistle 
of  Barnabas,  already  quoted. 

They  deemed  the  greatest  event  of  the  Christian  Era  to 
have  been  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ— on 
which  they  were  accustomed  joyfully  to  dwell,  not  only  as 
a  token  of  their  love  to  Him,  but  as  the  ground  of  their  oavh 
assured  hope  of  a  glorious  arising  from  the  dead,  into  an 
eternal  life  of  rest  and  peace  after  this  life's  sufferings  and 
warfare  were  over. 

Thus,  while  relinquishing  the  observance  of  the  Jemsh 
Sabbath,  they  naturally  chose  the  First  day  of  the  week,  as 
a  suitable  occasion  for  the  Lord's  followers  to  meet  together 
for  His  worship  and  praise;  and  so  it  gradually  became 
more  and  more  an  established  Church  institution,  as  the 
years  passed  on.f       " 


V 


*  Neander,  although  himself  an  earnest  and  strict  believer  in  a  relig- 
ious observance  of  the  established  Christian  Sabbath,  thus  testifies  as 
a  Church  Historian : 

"According  to  the  teaching  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  the  Mosaic  Law,  n^ 
in  its  whole  extent,  has  lost  its  value  as  such  to  Christians.  .  .  . 
Nothing  therefore  could  be  a  rule  binding  upon  them,  on  account  of  its 
being  contained  in  that  Law:  but  whatever  was  obligatory  as  a  rule  of 
Christian  life,  must  derive  its  authority  from  another  quarter.  Hence 
a  transference  of  the  Old  Testament  command  as  to  the  sanctity  of  the 
Sabbath,  to  the  New  Covenant  dispensation,  Avas  not  admissible." 
..."  On  the  standing  point  of  the  Gospel,  the  whole  hfe  became  in 
e(iual  manner  related  to  (iod ;  and  thus  all  the  days  of  the  Christian 
life  must  have  been  equally  holy  to  the  Lord."  {Histonj  Planting 
Chrifitianity,  vol.  i.,  p.  150.) 

f  Without  needlessly  multiplying  testimony  upon  this  subject,  it 


172  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

/  It  is  manifest  that  with  the  changing  circumstances  ac- 

companying and  following  the  wider  spread  of  Christianity 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  the  continually  increas- 
ing numbers  a  ad  varied  occupations  of  its  professors,  there 
would  reasonably  be  a  corresponding  change  in  the  estab- 
lished provisions  in  regard  to  this  important  duty;  and  that 
the  earnest  and  prayerful  judgment  of  Christ's  Church,  in 
regard  to  the  absolute  need  of  such  a  regular  day  for  an  en- 
tire withdrawal  from  the  business  of  this  world,  and  so 
gradually  a  more  solemn  consecration  of  the  First  day  of 

may  be  well  to  cite  a  few  of  the  Ancient  Fathers  as  to  the  belief  and 
practice  of  the  primitive  Christians  in  regard  to  it. 
f  Justin  Martyr,  while  protesting  "  They  do  not  Sahhatize,''  says  in 

another  place,  "  On  the  day  that  is  called  Sunday,  all  both  in  the  coun- 
try and  in  the  city  assembled  together,  where  we  preach  and  pray,  and 
discharge  all  the   other  duties  of  Divine  Worship."— (Sec'0?i(:/  Ai^ol., 

p.  18.) 

In  his  First  Apology  he  recites  this  fact  of  the  observance  of  "  Sun- 
day," giving  this  reason  for  it : 

"  Because  it  was  the  '  first  day  of  the  week,  on  which  God  out  of  the 
confused  chaos  made  the  world ;  and  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  arose 
from  the  dead  .  .  .  ;  and  appeared  to  His  Apostles  and  Disciples,  and 
taught  those  things  which  we  now  believe."— (Mrs'i  Apol.,  p.  67.) 

Ignatius,  in  one  of  his  early  Epistles,  writes : 

''Let  us  no  longer  Sabhatize;  but  keep  the  Lord's  day  in  which  our 
Life  rose:  banishing  on  that  day  all  sorrow  and  grief." 

Origen  counsels  his  auditors  to 

"  Pray  unto  Almighty  God;  especially  on  the  Lord's  day,  which  is  a 
commemoration  of  Christ's  resurrection."— (7ri  Isaion,  Horn.  V.) 

Clement  of  Alexandria  calls  it 

"  The  chief  of  days,  our  rest  indeed;''  and  says, 

"  That  a  true  Christian,  according  to  the  commands  of  the  Gospel, 
observes  the  Lord's  day,— by  casting  out  all  evil  thoughts  and  enter- 
taining all  good  ones ;  glorifying  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  on  this 
day.— (»S'^/o»i.,  Bk.  7,  p.  585.) 

Such  was  the  primitive  observance  of  the  "  First  day  of  the  week ; " 
adapted  in  its  liberty  and  in  its  simplicity  to  the  inchoate  condition  of 
the  Christian  Church,  at  first  composed  as  it  was  of  those  so  largely 
withdrawn  from  earthly  pursuits,  and  in  momentary  expectation  of  a 
personal  coming  of  the  Lord.  T.  K. 


THE   CIIKISTIAX    LIFE.  173 

the  week  to  man's  rest  and  spiritual  refreshment,  as  well  as 
to  God's  worship,  would  have  His  ai)proval  and  blessing. 
Moreover  there  is  a  general  conviction  among  evangelical 
Christians  of  every  religious  denomination,  (in  which  the 
writer  of  this  essay  fully  shares),  that  wholly  apart  from  the 
question  of  our  obligation  under  the  Mosaic  Law,  we  have  a 
clear  Divine  record  that  many  hundreds  of  years  before 
that  Law  was  given,  the  Lord,  at  the  creation  of  the  Uni- 
verse, "  rested  tlie  Se'&entJi  day^''  and  "  blessed  it^  and  lial- 
loioediV'  {Gen.\\.%Z\'^ 

*  Since  the  original  publication  of  this  article  on  the  "  First  Day  of 
the  AVeek,"  the  following  remarkable  confirmation  of  the  general  posi- 
tion taken  therein,  has  appeared  in  the  ''London  Christian.''''  It  will  be 
observed  that  the  eminent  church  scholars,  assembled  in  Conference,  do 
not  rest  the  claims  of  the  Christian  sabbath  upon  a  continuance  of  the 
direct  authority  of  the  Jewish  Law;  yet  they  clearly  recognize  "the 
principle  embodied  in  the  Commandment,''''  as  of  "Divine  obligation,'''' 
— viz.,  "the  religious  observance  of  one  dap  in  seven,  as  a  day  of  rest, 
and  worship,  and  of  religious  teaching." 

"  The  most  notable  recent  deliverance  on  the  subject  is  that  of  the 
Lambeth  Conference  of  Archbishops,  Metropolitan  and  Bishops  that 
met  in  London  in  July  of  last  year.  Its  imijortance  is  greatly  enhanced 
by  the  fact  that  the  145  prelates  who  were  in  attendance  represent  the 
entire  Protestant  Episcopalian  constituency  of  the  English-speaking 
race  throughout  the  world.  It  is,  therefore,  with  peculiar  satisfaction 
that  we  give  the  excellent  series  of  resolutions  which  were  adopted 
unanimously  by  this  body  of  eminent  men,  with  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  at  their  head.  They  .are  as  follows,  and  we  should  add  that 
they  are  also  urgently  enforced  in  the  Encyclical  Letter  addressed  'to 
all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' 

"  1.  That  the  principle  of  the  religious  observance  of  one  day  in 
seven,  embodied  in  the  Fourth  Commandment,  is  of  Divine  obligation. 

"  2.  That,  from  the  time  of  our  Lord's  Resurrection,  the  first  day  of 
the  week  was  observed  by  Christians  as  a  day  of  worship  and  rest,  and, 
under  the  name  of  "  The  Lord's  Day,"  gradually  succeeded,  as  the  great 
weekly  festival  of  the  Christian  church,  to  the  sacred  position  of  the 
Sabbath. 

"  3.  That  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  Day  as  a  day  of  rest,  of  wor- 
ship, and  of  religious  teaching  has  been  a  priceless  blessing  in  all  Chris- 
tian lands  in  which  it  has  been  maintained." — London  Christian. 


174  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

No  one  who  has  witnessed  the  demoralizing  results  of  a 
general  neglect  of  the  observance  of  the  Christian  Sabbath 
day  in  many  of  the  countries  of  Europe,  can  doubt  that 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  of  America  have 
"  chosen  the  better  part,"  in  recognizing  that  day  as  legally 
appointed  for  an  entire  rest  from  outward  business  or 
earthly  labor;  or  can  fail  to  rejoice  that  so  large  a  propor- 
tion of  the  people  reverently  observe  it  as  a  day  set  apart 
for  the  Lord's  worship  and  service.* 
/  The  sight  of  so  many  thousands,  in  city  and  country,  go- 

ing up  regularly  on  that  day  to  their  places  of  worship  with 
their  families,  to  seek  His  favor  and  protecting  care  and  to 
praise  Him  for  the  mercies  that  have  crowned  their  lives, 
together  with  the  remembrance  that,  in  English-speaking 
lands  alone,  nearly  Twenty  milUon  Teachers  and  Scholars 
regularly  meet  together,  in  their  Christian  Sabbath-schools, 
.  to  tell  and  to  learn  the  sweet  story  of  the  life  and  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  their  Lord  and  Saviour,— are  in  them- 
selves an  inspiration ;  and  we  may  humbly  hope  that  such 
efforts,  however  imperfect  they  may  be,  will  call  down  His 
blessing  on  our  land. 

It  has  been  well  said  by  an  eminent  Christian  Historian, 
(Dr.  Schaff),  that  next  to  the  Bible  and  the  Church,  the 
Christian  Sabbath  was  God's  chief  instrumentality  of  good 
to  mankind,  and  for  the  spread  of  His  own  kingdom  upon 
the  earth. 


/  *  It  is  related  of  Professor  Agassiz,  Sr.,  who  was  an  earnest  Christian 

)n         believer,  that  on  being  asked  what  was  his  most  profound  impression 
on  first  coming  to  this  country,  he  replied  thoughtfully, 
"  Your  universal  observance  of  the  Lord's  day." 


THE   CHRISTIAN   LIFE.  175 

in  confirmation  of  the  view  that  the  institution  of  one  day 
in  seven  for  human  rest  and  for  Divine  worship  was  the 
Lord's  primal  appointment,  we  may  observe  that  the  Fourtli 
Commandment  evidently  refers  to  such  previous  authority; 
commencing  with  the  words  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  day,"' 
and  closing  with  the  very  words  recorded  in  the  Mosaic 
narrative  of  the  Creation:  "  The  Lord  rested  on  the  Seventh 
day;  loherefore  He  blessed  the  Seventh  day  and  hallowed 

itr 

Moreover  we  find,  from  the  most  recently  discovered 
Babylonian  inscriptions,  that  "  the  Sabbath  was  a  primitive 
Chaldean  Institution;"  and  was  doubtless  sacredly  observed 
among  them  from  the  time  of  the  dispersion  of  the  tribes 
at  Babel,  as  handed  down  by  tradition  from  their  fathers. 
The  very  word,  '' Sabathu,''  was  known  to  the  Assyrians 
as  a  "day  of  rest  and  jjeace,  on  which  work  was  un- 
lawful." * 

It  was  doubtless  the  superstitious  observance  of  the  Jewish 
Sabbath,  bv  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  that  led  the  Lord 
Jesus  so  openly  to  testify  against  its  prevailing  abuse,  and 
to  declare  that  it  was  made  for  man  and  not  man  for  it: 
that  the  "  Son  of  Man  was  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  day,"  and 
that  it  was  "  lawful  to  do  good  "  on  that  day. 

It  is  needful  now  that  we  should  not  only  rightly  approach 
the  consideration  of  this  important  subject,  but  should  in- 
telligently seek  to  know  and  to  follow  the  Lord's  will  as  to 
its  rightful  disposal,  so  that  we  may  be  preserved  from  all 

*  See  Dr.  Sayce's  revision  of  Geo.  JSmith''s  Chaldean  Account  of  Gene- 
sis. 


i- 


176  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

errors  in  regard  to  it,  whether  on  the  right  hand  or  on  the 
left.* 


7^ 


THE   LIFE   OF   TRUST. 


V 


In  nothing  is  the  Divine  authority  of  all  true  Christian 
doctrine  more  evident,  than  in  its  wise  and  universal  adap- 
tation to  the  best  interests  and  the  truest  welfare  of  man- 
kind. It  exercises  a  supreme  and  vital  influence  not  only 
upon  his  spiritual  life  and  growth,  but  just  as  certainly  upon 
his  real  happiness  and  highest  attainment  in  this  earthly 
life  also. 

In  ihe  simple  yet  sublime  teachings  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  and  of  His  Apostles,  may  be  found  the  germs  of 
many  of  those  accepted  truths  in  regard  to  the  secret  of 
tranquil  and  holy  living,  of  restful  and  effective  service, 
which  human  wisdom  and  experience  have  since  approved ; 
and  which  have  been  so  often  expanded  and  illustrated  by 
the  Christian  philosopher  or  poet. 

Take  for  instance  His  own  loving  injunction,  "  Be  not 
anxious  for  the  morrow.  .  .  .  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the 
evil  (or  trouble)  thereoV'—ATatt.  vi.  34.  R.  V. 

What  a  Divine  fore-knowledge  of  the  delicate  mechanism 
of  the  human  mind  and  brain,  of  their  powers  of  endurance, 

*  The  French  experiment,  a  century  ago,  of  substituting  the  tenth 
day,  instead  of  the  seventh,  as  a  legally  recognized  period  of  rest, 
signally  failed :  both  man  and  beast  breaking  down  under  the  change. 

Even  inanimate  matter  has  been  proved  by  modern  science  to  need 
rest, — t\\e" fatigue  of  mate riaV  heing  a  well-known  phrase  in  Civil 
Engineering.  The  particles,  even  of  wrought  iron,  become  disinte- 
grated by  incessant  use,  and  require  rest  for  their  readjustment  and 
restoration.  The  "  Sabbath  of  the  Fields,''^  enjoined  by  the  Lord  as  a 
rest,  every  seventh  year,  was  doubtless  an  important  factor  in  the  pre- 
servation of  the  fertility  and  freshness  of  the  land.  T.  K. 


THE   CHRISTIAN   LIFE.  177 

of  the  true  prescription  for  their  healthful  j)reservation  or 
restoration,  is  here  displayed.  What  a  grand  recipe  for  so 
many  imaginary  ills,  is  unfolded  in  these  few  comprehensive 
words.* 

So  with  His  assurance  of  our  Heavenly  Father's  compas- 
sionate regard  for  all  His  creation.  He  who  clothes  so  gor- 
geously the  fading  lily,  who  watches  so  tenderly  the  falling 
sparrow,  will  He  fail  to  provide  or  to  care  for  His  trusting 
children,  even  in  the  minutest  affairs  of  their  daily  lives? 

To  the  Primitive  Christians,  who  fully  accepted  these 
truths  as  they  were  reiterated  and  explained  by  His  Apos- 
tles, they  became  indeed  "  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,"  even 
for  this  "  present  evil  world."  To  be  counselled  to  cast  all 
their  cankering,  unavailing  care  upon  an  Almighty  Protec- 
tor, who  cared  so  lovingly  for  them,  (1  Feter,  v.  7),  to  be  told 
that  it  was  His  will  that  they  should  "  be  anxious  about 

*  George  Herbert  thus  coiiimeiuorates  the  happiness  and  safety  of  a 
life  of  simple  trust,  one  day  at  a  time. 

"Oh,  well  it  was  for  thee,  when  this  befell, 

That  God  did  make 
Thy  business  His,  and  in  thy  life  partake  ; 

For  thon  canst  tell, 
If  it  be  once  His,  all  is  well. 

God  chains  thy  sorrow. 
Wilt  thou  forestall  it;  grieve  now  for  to-morrow, 

And  then  again 
Grieve  over,  freshly,  all  thy  pain. 

Either  grief  will  not  come,  or  if  it  must, 

Do  not  fore-cast ; 
While  it  Cometh,  it  is  almost  past. 

Away  distrust, 
Our  God  liath  promised,  He  is  just." 

So  Archbishop  Trench  points  out  the  unwisdom  of  our  anticipating 
future  erils,  instead  of  enjoying  j^resent  blessings : 
"  Wiser  it  were  to  welcome  and  make  ours 
Whate'er  of  good,  though  small,  the  Presetit  brings  ; 
Kind  greetings,  sunshine,  song  of  birds,  and  flowers, 
With  a  child's  pure  delight  in  little  things  ; 
And  of  the  griefs  unborn,  to  rest  secure, — 
Knowing  that  mercy  ever  will  endure." 

12 


t 


178  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

nothing,"  because  He  tlieir  "  Lord  was  at  hand,"  and  that 
"  in  everything  "  they  were  invited  "  by  prayer  and  suppli- 
cation, with  thanksgiving,  to  make  their  requests  known 
unto  Him"  {Philip,  iv.  6),  and  that  so  "the  peace  of  God 
which  passes  all  understanding  should  guard  {garrison,  lit- 
erally) their  hearts  and  minds  through  Christ  Jesus  "— 
surely  this  was  a  "  glorious  Gospel,"  and  "  worthy  of  all  ac- 
ceptation;" seeing  that  it  brought  the  "promise  of  this  life, 
and  of  that  which  was  to  come." 

Then  their  realization,  through  faith  in  His  word,  that 
"  God  had  not  given  them  a  spirit  of  bondage  unto  fear,  but 
of  power  and  of  love  and  of  a  sound  mind,"  and  that  they 
would  glorify  Him  most  by  a  holy  courage  and  a  calm  and 
restful  life,  inspired  and  strengthened  them,  amid  all  their 
outward  trials  and  continual  dangers;  with  the  evidences  of 
which  their  records  overflow. 

MODERATION    AND    TEMPERANCE.* 

With  these  consoling  assurances,  however,  came  linked 
the  injunction  {Philip,  iv.  5:)    "Let  your  moderation  be 

known   unto   all  men" ;   moderation,  not   only   in   all 

earthly  anxiety  or  grief,  but  of  life  and  conversation,  of  ap- 
petite and  desire;   and  for  the  same  reason,   "The  Lord 


*  These  words,  "Moderation  and  Temperance,"  in  our  English  New 
Testament,  (A.  V.),  have  in  the  original  a  wider  and  somewhat  differ- 
ent signilieation  from  that  which  is  implied  in  their  present  use. 

I  have  thought,  however,  that  they  would  be  more  generally  under- 
stood; and  therefore  more  generally  useful,  if  quoted  from  the  old  ver- 
sion in  this  place  and  with  this  explanation:  more  especially  as  their 
fullest  interpretation  embraces,  while  it  undoubtedly  transcends,  their 
customary  meaning  in  our  day.  T.  K. 


THE    CIIRISTIAX    LIFE.  179 

was  at  hand ;  "  nigh  in  Ills  2:>ersonal  coming,  they  thonght, 
— certainl}'^  nigh  in  His  sweet  communion  and  fellowship. 
It  was  not  for  His  redeemed  followers  to  indulge  in  the  vani- 
ties of  this  Avorld — "  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye 
and  the  pride  of  life."  Accordingly  as  we  have  seen  in  re- 
gard to  their  dress  and  language,  so  also  in  their  style  of 
living  and  in  the  furniture  of  their  houses,  we  find  that 
they  were  careful  to  "  let  their  moderation  be  known  unto 
all "  around  them. 

Moreover,  while  avoiding  vain  outward  disjjlay  in  the 
decoration  of  their  tables,  they  felt  also  restrained  from  all 
indulgence  in  costly  viands  or  luxurious  feasts,  so  in  vogue 
at  that  day.* 

Although  the  necessity  of  a  total  abstinence  from  the  light 
wines  of  the  country  was  not  universally  recognized,  yet  it 
largely  prevailed  among  the  primitive  Christians;  and  they 
all  seem  to  have  practised  the  utmost  moderation  in  the  use 
of  these  things. 

Justin  Martyr  thus  writes  to  his  friends  on  this  subject: 

*  Clement  of  Alexandria  writes  as  to  moderation  in  furniture  and 
table  ornaments : 

"  Will  not  a  knife  cut  as  well,  thoufi:li  it  have  not  ivory  haft,  or  be 
not  garnished  with  silver; — or  an  earthen  basin  serve  to  wash  the  hands? 
Will  not  the  table  hold  our  provisions,  if  its  feet  be  not  made  of  ivory; 
or  the  lamp  give  its  light,  although  made  by  a  Potter,  as  well  as  if  it 
were  the  work  of  a  Goldsmith  ? " 

"  May  not  a  man  sleep  as  well  upon  a  simple  couch  as  upon  a  bed- 
stead of  ivory :  upon  a  goat  skin  as  well  as  upon  a  j^urple  or  Pha>nician 
carpet?  Our  Lord  ate  His  meat  out  of  a  common  dish,  and  made  His 
disciples  sit  down  upon  the  grass,  without  ever  fetching  down  a  silver 
cup  from  Heaven.  He  took  the  water  which  the  Samai-itan  woman 
had  drawn  in  an  earthen  pitcher,  not  requiring  one  of  gold, — to  (piench 
His  thirst;  for  He  respected  the  use,  not  the  vain  and  superfluous  state 
of  things."— (Pa'6?.  II.  c.  3.) 


180  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

"  We  ouglit  to  choose  such  food  as  will  make  our  lives 
exemplary  and  useful;  not  to  gratify  our  taste  and  delicacy 
of  appetite.  .  .  .  Wine  is  neither  to  be  drunk  to  excess,  nor 
to  be  used  daily,  as  commonly  as  water.  Water  is  a  neces- 
sity, —but  wine  should  be  given  only  to  help  and  relieve  the 
body.  If  taken  immoderately  it  chains  up  the  tongue, 
sparkles  fire  out  of  the  eyes,  and  makes  the  limbs  tremble ; 
and  the  understanding  being  gone,  it  turns  contrary  to 
God's  ordination  the  peaceful  instruments  of  husbandry 
into  swords  and  spears." 

He  goes  on  to  say,  "  Nor  are  we  less  to  take  heed  to  glut- 
tony .  .  .  not  giving  way  to  the  infinite  and  unsatisfied 
craving  of  too  nice  or  intemiDerate  an  appetite." — {Epist.  ad 
Zen.  et  Sereri,  s.  5.) 

We  cannot  doubt  that  if  the  organized  and  powerful  agen- 
cies at  work  in  our  day,  for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
alcoholic  liquors,  which  are  spreading  such  sorrow  and  des- 
olation on  every  hand,  had  prevailed  in  the  times  of  the 
early  Christians,  they  would  have  united  their  voices  and 
their  influence  against  any  compromise  with  so  great  an 

evil. 

It  is  interesting  to  recognize,  among  the  wise  advices  of 
the  Fathers  upon  this  general  subject,  some  familiar  maxims 
of  our  time. 

"  Many,"  writes  Clement  of  Alexandria,  "  seem,  like  the 
brute  beasts,  to  live  only  that  tliey  may  eat;  but  for  us,  we 
are  commanded  to  eat  that  we  may  limy  He  goes  on  to 
say,  "  that  indulgence  in  rich  food,  and  pleasure  is  not  the 
design  of  our  lives  in  this  world ;   our  residence  here  being 


THE   CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  181 

in  order  to  an  incorruptible  life ;  therefore  our  nourishment 
ought  to  be  easy  and  simple,  and  such  as  is  subservient  to 
our  health  and  strength." — {Epistle  to  Presbyters  and  Dea- 
cons.) 

Jerome  advises  a  Christian  woman,  in  regard  to  the  educa- 
tion of  her  daughter,  that  "  her  diet  should  be  simple  and 
sparing,  and  that  she  should  never  eat  more  than  she  could 
arise  from  with  some  apijetite ;  so  that  after  meals  she 
might  be  presently  fit  to  read  or  to  sing  Psalms." — {Ad 
Ladam.) 

Gregory,  of.Nyssen,  confirms  these  views: 

"We  are  commanded  to  seek  only  what  is  enough  to 
keep  the  body  in  its  due  state  and  temper ;  and  thus  to 
address  our  prayer  to  God:  "- Gim  us  our  daily  bread; 
give  us  bread,  not  delicacies,  or  silken  carpets,  or  silver  ves- 
sels, but  bread,  which  is  the  true  and  common  staff  of  man's 
life." 

AVOIDING    CONTROVERSY. 

Before  leaving  the  general  subject  of  moderation,  it  may 
be  fitting  to  note  that  the  Christians  of  the  first  two  centu- 
ries were  careful  to  avoid  all  extreme  controversial  debates 
or  heated  language,  in  their  consideration  of  religious  sub- 
jects. 

What  is  called  the  "  Odium.  Theologicum^''  was  discour- 
aged amongst  them ;  or  any  depreciation  of  those  honestly 
differing  in  opinions  or  judgment  on  the  questions  of  the 
day,  not  of  vital  importance. 

Perhaps  the  following  beautiful  testimony  of  Origen,  to 


182  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

this  prevailing  Christian  charity,  and  as  to  his  own  practice 
may  be  sufficient  on  this  point,  although  it  is  abundantly 
confirmed. 

He  writes  to  Celsus:  "Among  your  philosophers  there  are 
sects  that  have  perpetual  feuds  and  quarrels  with  each  other; 
whereas  we,  who  have  accepted  the  commandments  of  the 
blessed  Jesus,  and  have  learned  to  sjieak  and  to  live  accord- 
ing to  His  teachings,  ...  do  not  say  severe  things  against 
those  who  differ  from  us  in  opinion,  or  who  fail  to  embrace 
immediately  the  views  which  we  have  adopted ;  but  as  much 
as  in  us  lies,  we  leave  nothing  untried  that  may  persuade 
them  to  change  for  the  better, — and  to  give  themselves  up  to 
the  service  of  the  great  Creator,  and  to  do  all  things  as  those 
that  must  give  an  account  for  their  actions."  .  .  .  He  adds, 
.  "I  have  never  reviled  any  man,  nor  maintained  the  least 

difference  or  controversy  with  any  Christian  in  all  my  life." 

A  century  later  however,  as  the  Church  became  influen- 
tial and  popular  and  the  power  of  the  Bishops  and  Clergy 
increased,  most  violent  controversies  arose  among  them, 
which  embittered  and  ultimately  divided  the  Churches. 

To  these  and  to  other  defections,  we  shall  have  occasion 
to  refer  in  the  closing  articles  of  this  Essay. 


THE  DECADENCE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  needful  limits  of  this  Essay  will  oblige  us  now  to 
pass  over  many  other  details  of  the  practical  life  and  organ- 
ization of  the  Primitive  Christian  believers. 

It  would  otherwise  be  interesting  to  glance  at  the  simplic- 


THE   DECADENCE   OF   THE   CHURCH.  183 

ity  of  their  places  of  worship,  called  originally  kurialca 
0  ike  I  a,  the  Lord's  houses;  built  strictly  without  ornamenta- 
tion or  imagery,  and  with  due  provision  for  a  separation  of 
the  sexes  on  opposite  sides  of  the  same  room  in  their  pub- 
lic worship. 

Their  loving  hospitality  at  all  times,  to  the  "  Brethren  " 
especially,  and  their  care  to  j)rovide  wntli  suitable  creden- 
tials those  held  in  good  esteem  at  home,  when  these  were 
about  to  visit  the  localities  of  other  Christian  Churches, 
whether  in  the  service  of  the  Gos^Del  or  for  other  reasons, 
deserve  also  our  commemoration.* 

Then,  too,  the  records  of  their  tender  regard  and  regular 
j)rovision  for  the  temporal  and  spiritual  needs  of  the  sick 
and  poor  of  each  congregation,  as  well  as  of  their  universal 
charity  to  all  mankind,  and  esi)ecially  of  their  fearless  and 
disinterested  care  even  for  the  suffering  and  dying  Heathen 
around  them  in  times  of  pestilence  or  war,f  when  their  own 

*  Dr.  Cave  says  of  these  general  credentials :  "  They  were  granted  to 
all  whether  clergy  or  laity,  that  were  about  to  travel,  as  tickets  of  hos- 
pitality ;  that  whei'ever  they  came,  upon  their  producing  these  letters 
they  might  be  known  to  be  orthodox,  and  as  such  received  and  enter- 
tained by  them." — "  Primitive  Christianity,''''  p.  317. 

t  Among  various  records  of  this  brave  and  disinterested  action  of 
the  Early  Christians,  at  different  periods,  the  following  note  of  Euse- 
bius  in  his  narrative  of  a  fearful  plague  under  the  reign  of  Maximinus, 
may  be  sufficient :  "  Then  the  evidence  of  the  zeal  and  piety  of  the 
Christians  became  manifest  to  all ;  for  they  Avere  the  only  ones  in  the 
midst  of  such  distressing  circumstances,  that  exhibited  sympathy  and 
humanity  in  their  conduct.  They  continued  the  whole  day,— some  in 
the  burial  of  the  dead,— for  numberless  were  they  for  whom  there  was 
none  to  care;  others  collecting  the  multitude  of  those  wasting  by  the 
famine,  throughout  the  city,  distributed  bread  among  all.  So  that  the 
fact  was  cried  abroad  and  men  glorified  the  God  of  the  Christians,  con- 
strained as  they  were  by  the  facts,  to  acknowledge  that  these  were  the 
only  really  pious  and  the  only  real  worshippers  of  God." — Eccl.  History, 
p.  391. 


184  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

friends  and  neighbors  had  deserted  them  through  fear,  these 
are  among  the  brightest  annals  of  the  Early  Church. 

There  is  now,  however,  only  room  for  a  rai3id  and  closing 
review  of  the  fundamental  changes  which  soon  took  place 
in  their  Church  government,  and  of  the  gradual  decline  of 
its  spiritual  life  and  power  that  followed  those  compro- 
mises of  its  purity  of  doctrine  and  practice,  which  were  a 
natural  result  of  the  general  acceptance  and  final  establish- 
ment of  Christianity  as  the  State  religion  of  the  Roman 
Empire. 

As  with  the  Norman  invaders  of  England  centuries  after- 
ward, the  language  and  habits  of  the  conquerors  were 
merged  and  gradually  lost  in  those  of  the  conquered  race, 
so  it  was  in  too  great  measure  in  this  long-protracted  strug- 
gle of  the  Church  with  the  world.  Theoretically,  and  of 
course  to  a  large  extent  practically,  the  Church  had  won  in 
its  battle  for  the  Truth;  but  too  often  the  maxims  and  fash- 
ions, the  wealth  and  luxury  of  the  great  Heathen  empires 
had  in  the  close  contact  of  this  very  warfare,  so  leavened  and 
corrupted  that  Truth,  that  for  centuries  the  real  victory 
seemed,  to  a  casual  observer,  to  remain  largely  with  the 
world. 

It  was  but  another  illustration  of  the  old  fable  of  the 
"  sun  and  the  wind."  What  the  cruel  and  desperate  efforts 
of  the  tyrant  and  the  persecutor  failed  to  do,  the  warm  and 
genial  rays  of  worldly  prosperity  had  at  last  accomplished ; 
the  girdle  of  Truth,  which  the  fury  of  the  storm  had  only 
served  to  fasten  more  firmly,  was  gradually  loosened,  and 
the  mantle  of  purity  and  power  thrown  too  carelessly  aside. 


TJIE   DECADENCE   OF   THE   CHURCH.  185 

Perhaps  the  first  effect  was  seen  in  the  changes  of  organi- 
zation. Tlie  government  of  tlie  Primitive  Churcli,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  a  pure  Theo-democracy  —  the  Lord  at  its 
Head  and  each  member  equal  before  Him.  It  gradually  be- 
came more  aristocratic  in  its  pretensions  and  ambitious  in 
its  progressive  claims.  Its  Elders  or  Bishops,  who  had  ac- 
knowledged a  priority  of  one  of  their  number  at  first  only 
as  a  '"''primus  inter  pares,^^  at  last  endued  him  witli  sjDecial 
and  extended  powers,  covering  a  diocese  or  Church. 

Then  came  rapidly  a  general  recognition  of  tlie  separate 
classes  of  clergy  and  laity ;  and  at  last  the  establishment  of 
formal  ritualistic  services  in  public  w^orsliij:*. 

Long  ages  of  darkness  and  deadness  followed  the  eclipse 
of  Gospel  light  and  life  which  now  crept  slowly  over  the 
Lord's  heritage ;  not  owing  to  any  design,  far  less  to  any 
failure  of  His,  but  evidently  through  the  unfaithfulness  of 
His  professed  followers. 

Even  since  those  blessed  revivals  of  the  Sixteenth,  the 
Seventeenth  and  the  Eighteenth  centuries,  which  restored 
largely  both  to  the  Church  and  to  the  world,  the  light 
of  that  glorious  Gospel  which  had  been  hidden  so  long,  there 
still  remain  the  shadows  and  the  mists  of  traditional  error; 
the  claims  of  priestly  ritual  and  x)ower,  and  the  attractions 
of  worldly  wealth  and  glory. 

Each  of  the  great  Church  organizations  seems  to  have 
been,  in  the  past,  more  intent  on  the  assertion  of  its  own 
position  and  dignity  and  of  its  especial  Apostolic  authority, 
than  upon  the  advancement  of  its  Lord  and  Redeemer's 
Kingdom  over  the  Earth 


186  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

/  Happily,  within  a  few  years,  this  icy  wall  of  jealous 
separation  appears  in  a  measure  to  be  dissolving.  The 
earnest  and  united  eiiorts  of  our  Bible  and  Missionary 
Societies  are  drawing  more  closely  |;ogether  evangelical 
Christians  of  all  denominations;  and  the  researches  of 
modern  archaeologists  and  scholars  are  convincing  the 
leaders  of  thought,  in  each  Association,  that  no  one  of  these 
has  an  exclusive  claim  to  any  priority  on  the  ground  of  its 
identity  with  the  Apostolic  Church. 

Dean  Stanley  for  example,  in  one  of  his  latest  published 
essays,  thus  forcibly  presents  the  results  of  recent  investiga- 
tions, in  final  settlement  of  some  long-disputed  questions 
with  regard  to  Church  organization.  Although  he  might  not 
always  be  regarded  as  a  safe  guide  on  points  of  evangelical 
doctrine,  yet  as  a  faithful  historian  and  a  most  accom- 
plished scholar,  his  authority  we  believe  is  universally 
acknowledged. 

"  It  is  certain,"  says  he,  "  that  of  the  offices  of  Bishop, 
Presbyter,  or  Deacon,  there  is  not  the  shadow  of  a  trace  in 
the  four  Gospels  and  that  they  were  not  a  part  of  the 
original  institution  of  the  Founder  of  our  religion. 

"  It  is  certain  that  they  arose  gradually  out  of  the  pre- 
existing institutions  either  of  the  Jewish  synagogue  or  of 
the  Roman  Empire  or  of  the  Eastern  municipalities,  or 
under  the  pressure  of  local  emergencies. 

"  It  is  certain  that  throughout  the  First  century,  and  the 
first  years  of  the  Second,  that  is  through  the  later  chapters 
of  Acts,  the  Apostolical  Epistles  and  the  writings  of  Clement 
and  Hermas,   'Bishop'   and    'Presbyter'  were  convertible 


TlIK   DECADENCE   OF   THE   CHURCH.  187 

terms  and  that  the  body  of  men  so  called  were  the  Rulers, 
so  far  as  any  Rulers  existed,  of  the  Early  Church. 

"It  is  certain  that  as  the  necessities  of  the  time  de- 
manded, first  in  Jerusalem  then  in  Asia  Minor,  by  the  elec- 
tion of  one  Presbyter  above  the  rest,  the  word  '  Bishop ' 
f2,-radually  changed  its  meaning  and  by  the  middle  of  the 
Second  century  became  restricted  to  the  chief  Presbyter  of 

the  locality. 

"  It  is  certain  that  in  no  instance  before  the  beginning  of 
the  Third  century  was  the  title  or  function  of  the  Pagan 
or  Jewish  priesthood  applied  to  the  Christian  Pastors. 

"  It  is  as  sure  that  nothing  like  modern  Episcopacy  ex- 
isted before  the  close  of  the  First  century,  as  it  is  that  noth-  ^ 
ing  like  modern  Presbyterianism  existed  after  the  begin- 
ninir  of  the  Second.  That  which  was  once  the  Gordian 
knot  of  Theologians  has,  at  least  in  this .  instance,  been 
untied  not  by  the  sword  of  persecution  but  by  the  jiatient 
nnravelment  of  scholarship."— ("  Sermons  and  Essays  on 
the  Apostolic  Age^) 

With  the  establishment  of  Bishops,  at  first  over  each  par- 
ticular Church  and  afterward  over  a  Diocese,  came  the  ap- 
pointment of  their  assistants  and  all  the  machinery  of  eccle- 
siastical government.  After  this  followed  the  perplexing 
questions  of  precedence,  the  pretensions  of  Rome,  and  the 
contested  claims  of  the  Eastern  Churches. 

Upon  these  again  succeeded  the  endless  varieties  of 
Church  doctrine  and  practice;  all  the  infinite  and  weary 
controversies  over  forms  and  ceremonies,  dogmas  and  de- 
crees of  councils,  with  mutual  charges  of  heresy  and  schism. 


188  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

So  that  for  centuries,  the  records  of  the  Christian  Church 
seem  to  be  filled  largely  with  a  dreary  recital  of  bitter  strife 
and  fruitless  divisions,  mostly  upon  secondary  issues. 

"f  DECLINE   OF   GIFTS. 

Meanwhile  the  ages  of  pure  faith  in  the  truth  and  power 
of  the  simple  Gospel  of  Christ,  as  well  as  of  His  own  Divine 
Headship  over  His  Church,  seemed  slowly  but  steadily  to 
pass  away. 

The  immediate  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  or- 
dering of  its  worshij),  and  in  the  special  direction  of  its  ser- 
vices, was  no  longer  realized  or  even  claimed.  The  glow  of 
its  early  light,  the  freshness  of  its  first  anointing,  faded  into 
a  perfunctory  and  formal  discharge  of  appointed  ceremo- 
nial services  in  its  public  assemblies ;  until  at  last  its  whole 
outward  life  seemed  to  consist  in  the  precision  of  its  obser- 
vance of  a  routine  of  feast  days  and  fast-days,  of  ascetic 
performances  and  penances,  of  a  superstitious  reverence 
for  the  relics  of  the  martyrs,  and  finally  of  the  adoration 
of  their  images  and  the  worship  of  the  various  canonized 
saints  of  the  calendar.* 

It  is  claimed,  in  defence  of  the  necessity  of  established 
forms  and  ritual  for  their  public  services,  that  the  supernat- 

*  Archdeacon  Farrar  records  of  the  great  Reformer  of  the  early  part 
of  the  Fifth  Century:— "In  A.D.  404,  Vigilantius  pubhshed  a  book  in 
which  he  endeavored  to  counteract  the  growing:  corruptions  of  the 
.  Church."  ...  "He    protested,    and    rightly,    against    the    deepening 

idolatry  of  Saints  and  martyrs;  .  .  .  against  the  vigils  and  fes- 
tivals at  their  tombs  and  chapels :— against  the  propensity  to  exalt  the 
ascetic  and  monastic  life  as  the  sole,  true  form  of  religion ;  against  the 
degrading  cult  of  bones  and  ashes  and  other  relics  of  the  dead." — 
''Lives  of  the  Fathers,''  vol.  ii.,  p.  272. 


tup:  decadence  of  the  ciiukcii.  189 

iiral  gifts  or  "  Charismata "  of  the  Primitive  Church  had 
been  withdrawn  after  its  permanent  orf^anization ;  and  that 
it  was  in  the  Divine  ordering  that  human  wisdom  and  prep- 
aration should  take  their  place,  so  as  to  prevent  confusion 
in  their  assemblies  and  to  enable  them  through  these  agen- 
cies, to  carry  on  His  work  and  to  spread  the  knowledge  of 
His  revealed  truth  over  the  Earth ;  and  that  with  a  proper 
exercise  of  these,  all  need  of  a  more  direct  inspiration  had 
ceased.* 

While  it  may  be  freely  admitted  that  the  latter  course 
was  far  preferable  to  an  entire  neglect  of  the  Truth,  and 
that  in  some  degree  the  Divine  blessing  seems  often  to  rest 
upon  our  imperfect  efforts  to  advance  it,  yet  we  should  have 
to  repudiate  all  faith  in  the  wisdom  and  power  of  its  Al- 
mighty and  ever-living  Head,  to  accept  for  a  moment  any 
such  solution  of  the  great  question  of  the  decadence  of  the 
Christian  Church  as  this. 

PKOTESTANTS. 

It  was  not  at  first  a  rapid,  or  a  very  perceptible  decline ; 
nor  did  it  involve  for  a  long  time  a  general  apostasy  from 

*  Dr.  Sanday  thus  pjives  jjeneral  expression  to  this  view,  in  a  recent 
essay  on  the  "  Origin  of  the  Christian  Ministry : " 

"  The  high  pitch  of  the  Cliurch,  at  the  time  when  St.  Paul  Avrote, 
could  not  always  be  sustained.  There  must  come  a  time  when  the 
splendid  dawn  of  spirit-given  illumination  Avould  fade  into  the  light  of 
common  day.  Then  the  Church  would  be  thrown  back  upon  her  more 
ordinary  resources;  and  .  .  .  its  officers  .  .  .  would  be  called  upon 
to  devote  themselves  most  regularly  and  pre-eminently  to  a  higher 
function, — the  direct  approach  to  God  in  worship  and  thanksgiving.'' 
He  adds :  "  It  was  natural  that  there  should  be  a  reluctance  to  confess 
that  the  dead  level  had  been  reached  and  that  the  gift  of  extraordinary 
inspiration  had  been  withdrawn," — that  "The  Ecclesia  Spiritus  had  at 


190  IIISTOKICAL   ESSAYS. 

their  primitive  faith  and  simx3licity  of  daily  life,  on  the  part 
of  the  early  Christians. 

Earnest  and  devoted  teachers  and  officers  of  the  Church, 
and  great  numbers  among  its  scattered  congregations,  not 
only  kept  that  faith,  but  one  by  one  joyfully  finished  their 
course,  all  unmoved  from  their  confession  and  their  con- 
sistent observance  of  the  simple  truths  of  the  Gospel.  Even 
where  these  yielded  at  last  to  the  af)parent  necessity  *  for 
some  important  changes  of  Church  organization,  they  still 
held  fast  to  the  purity  of  its  doctrine,  and  "  loved  not  their 
lives  unto  the  death  "  in  its  defence. 

It  was  not  till  after  the  close  of  the  Third  century,  when 
the  j)ressure  of  outward  persecution  had  ceased,  that  the 
disastrous  effects  of  this  great  revolution  in  the  principles 

last  to  yield  to  the  Ecclesia  Episcoporum  ;''''  suggesting  strangely,  "  It 
was  necessary  perhaps  for  the  preservation  of  Christianity,  that  it 
should  do  so." — London  Expositor,  No.  26. 

*  One  of  the  most  distinguished  of  our  critical  scholars  (J.  Rendel 
Harris,  formerly  Fellow  of  Clare  College,  Cambridge,  England,  now 
Professor  of  Biblical  Languages  and  Literature  in  Haverford  College, 
Pennsylvania),  earnestly  protests  against  any  such  plea  of  neaeasity,  as 
Dr.  Sanday,  above  quoted,  advances.     He  says : 

"  Why  should  the  Ecclesia  Spiritus  have  been  supplanted  by  the 
Ecclesia  Episcoporutn  f  '  It  was  necessary,  perhaps,  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  Church,'  says  Dr.  Sanday, — '  The  centrifugal  tendencies  of 
the  Church  were  so  strong,'  etc.,  etc.  .  .  . 

"  Would  it  not  be  better  boldly  to  face  the  position,  and  say  that  we 
find  in  the  Church,  as  elsewhere,  that  the  folly  of  man  enters  as  a  fac- 
tor along  with  the  wisdom  of  Grod '? 

"  The  spiritual  kingdom  is  liable  to  coup  cTetat  usurpation  and 
other  imperial  ills,  as  if  it  had  been  merely  a  temporal  sovereignty." 
..."  I  regret  extremely  that  he  should  have  expressed  himself  to 
the  effect  that  '  it  was  necessary  for  the  splendid  dawn  of  spirit-given 
illumination  to  fade  into  the  light  of  common  day.' " — {London  Exposi- 
tor, May,  1887). 

Professor  Harris  is  well-known,  both  in  Europe  and  America,  through 
liis  critical  revisions  of  various  Greek  Codices  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  by  his  scholarly  Commentary  on  the  Bidache,  published  in  1887. 


THE   DECADENCE    OF   THE   CHURCH.  191 

of  its  government  and  its  methods  of  administration,  became 
more  jiainfully  manifest  in  the  declining  life  and  fading 
light  of  the  Church.  Then,  however,  it  was  too  plainly- 
evident  that  while  Jealously  guarding  its  prerogatives  and 
holding  on  to  its  "  name  to  live,"  it  had  nevertheless  "  left 
its  first  love." 

Let  none  imagine  that  an  undue  importance  has  been  here 
attached  to  tlie  priestly  assumptions  of  the  Bishops  and 
Clergy,  or  to  the  reflex  influence  of  these  usurpations  on 
the  purity  of  doctrine  and  the  general  vitality  of  the  Church. 

Archbishop  AVhately  points  out  most  clearly  in  several 
of  his  essays  their  intimate  connection;  and  Dr.  Arnold 
of  Rugby,  thus  forcibly  declares  the  absolute  necessity 
even  yet  of  undoing  that  great  wrong:  "To  revive  Christ's  y— 
Church,  is  to  expel  the  Anti-Christ  of  Priesthood  (which,  as 
it  was  foretold  of  him, — ''as  God  sittetli  in  the  temple  of  God, 
sheiolng  himself  that  he  is  6^orZ'),  and  to  restore  its  dis- 
franchised members,  the  laity,  to  the  discharge  of  their 
proper  duties  in  it,  and  to  the  consciousness  of  their  para- 
mount importance." — {^''Discourses  on  the  Christian  Life^'' 
p.  52.) 

There  were,  however,  not  only  those  who  patiently  sub- 
mitted to  the  changes  which  they  considered  inevitable,  but 
also  many  brave  protestaats  among  the  various  Christian 
communities  of  that  day,  who  openly  testified  against  the 
claims  of  the  new  Priesthood;  but  these  were  overwhelmed 
by  its  advancing  popularity  and  power,  and  now  their 
names  appear  only  in  the  records  of  the  Church  as  dis- 
turbers of  its  unity  and  peace. 


/ 


\ 


192  HISTOEICAL   ESSAYS. 

Thomas  Hodgkin,  of  England,  finely  says  of  this  numer- 
ous and  otherwise  almost  nameless  class: 

"Under  that  one  wide  tombstone,  on  which  is  written  the 
word  '  heresy^  slumber  the  representatives  of  the  most  di- 
vergent schools  of  thought;  wild  and  licentious  Antino- 
mians,  Judaical  re-actionaries,  and  logical  Philosophers; 
.  .  .  and  side  by  side  with  these,  some  honest  assertors  of 
the  freedom  and  spirituality  of  the  Gospel  against  the  in- 
novations which  were  turning  the  servants  of  the  Church 
into  a  pretentious  Priesthood,  and  the  services  of  the 
Church  into  a  tawdry  pageantry.  .  .  .  There  they  all  slum- 
ber together.  .  .  .  Who  shall  now  part  them  under  their 
several  standards,  separate  the  precious  from  the  vile,  the 
true  forerunners  of  free  Christian  thought  from  the  mere 
teachers  of  vice  and  immorality  ? "  * 

Among  this  class,  however,  we  would  call  special  atten- 
tion to  one  sect,  the  Montanists ;  who  seem  now  to  be  more 
generally  recognized  by  many  Church  scholars,  as  entitled 
in  some  degree  to  be  considered  as  sincere  Reformers  in 
their  day ;  although  persecution  perha^^s  drove  them  into 
some  excesses,  and  their  final  overwhelming  defeat  and  sup- 
pression have  involved  them  in  the  universal  condemnation 
of  all  heretical  dissenters.  Professor  Rendel  Harris,  in  the 
essay  noted  above,  expresses  the  belief  that  "  Montanism 


*  See  Preface  to  Eduxird  Backhouse'' s  Treatise  on  "  Early  Church 
History.''''  This  interesting  volume,  with  its  beautiful  illustrations  and 
jts  able  Editorial  notes,  is  worthy  of  a  place  in  every  Library.  Owing 
to  the  fact  of  its  not  being  a  work  of  original  authority,  and  also  that 
its  scoi)e  and  object  were  so  different  from  those  of  this  essay,  I  have 
not  had  an  earlier  opportunity  of  reference  to  it.  T.  K. 


THE   DECADENCE   OF   THE   CllUKCH.  193 

Avas  Primitive  Christianity."  He  states  that  it  "  was  based 
upon  the  pre-eminence  of  inspired  persons,  who  owed  their 
election  to  no  human  hands ; "  that  it  recognized  no  dis- 
tinction of  sexes  in  the  gift  of  the  ministry,  and  that  it  was 
"sound  in  morals  and  pure  in  faith,"  and  was  "allowed 
even  by  the  Catholic  critics  "  to  be  "  only  a  heresy  on  the 
side  of  discipline." 

Archdeacon  Farrar  also,  in  his  recent  Historical  Biogra- 
phy of  the  "  Fathers  of  the  Church,"  while  not  entirely  in- 
dorsing TertuUian's  defence  of  the  Montanists,  yet  speaks 
thus  warmly  on  their  behalf: 

"  Of  Maximilia,"  the  principal  female  associate  of  Mon- 
tanus,  "we  know  in  reality  nothing  but  what  is  good." 
"  She  sacrificed  all  her  wealth."  .  .  .  "If  she  believed  her- 
self to  be  a  Prophetess,  wherein  did  she  differ  from  the  four 
daughters  of  the  Deacon  Philip,  or  from  those  who,  as  St. 
Paul  bears  v^itness, prophesied  in  the  Corinthian  Church?" 
"  I  am.  chased  like  a  wolf  from  the  fold,"  she  said,  "  and  yet 
I  am  not  a  wolf;  I  am  (or  represent)  Word,  Spirit,  and 
Power," 

"  Was  it  a  ci'ime,"  says  Farrar,  "  to  believe  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,  or  to  believe  that  He  could  inspire  women  as  well  as 
men?"— (Vol.  I.,  p.  136.) 

Again,  "  It  is  beginning  to  be  widely  recognized  that  in 
many  respects  Montanism  was  a  protest  in  favor  of  Primi- 
tive Christianity,  a  revolt  against  the  secularization  of  the 
Church,"  ..."  an  honest  and  earnest  endeavor  to  restore 
its  primitive  discipline  and  practices."  .  .  .  "Wesley  had 

so  much  sympathy  with  him  as  to  declare,  that  '  so  far  as 
13 


H 


194  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

he  could  see,  Montanus  was  the  saintliest  man  whom  that 
century  produced.' " 

Farrar,  however,  thinks  that  he  fell  into  after-excesses 
through  want  of  sound  judgment,  and  so  "  missed  his  mark 
and  neutralized  the  elements  of  truth  in  his  own  teaching." 
—(Pp.  136,  143.) 

From  these  evidences  it  may  be  seen  that  some  earnest 
efforts  were  made  to  resist  the  torrent  of  innovation  that 
was  sweeping  away  the  ancient  land-marks  of  the  Church, 
though,  alas !  these  efforts  were  in  vain. 

AN   INTERIOR  VIEW. 

In  order  now  to  apprehend  more  vividly  the  character  and 
the  extent  of  those  changes,  let  us  glance  at  one  of  their 
public  places  of  worship,  in  the  Fourth  century — during 
the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Constantine,  for  example. 

The  congregation  is  now  no  longer  gathered  in  a  private 
house,  or  by  the  sea  side,  or  in  some  secluded  place  like  the 
Catacombs  of  Rome,  but  in  a  spacious  edifice  called  "  The 
Church;"  the  word  olxs'ta  (houses)  once  appended  to  xupta/A 
in  their  designation,  having  been  droj^ped.  On  entering,  we 
will  see  at  a  regular  pulpit,  an  api)ointed  "Zecz^or,"  reading 
the  lessons  selected  for  the  day ;  a  service  once  the  free  pre- 
rogative of  any  one  choosing  the  passage  of  Scripture  under 
the  Lord's  leading.*     As  the  ordained  Bishop  invites  to 

*■  We  read  in  "  King's  Primitive  Church  "  (Part  II.,  p.  5),  of  this  later 
period :  "  He  that  read  the  Scriptures  was  particularly  destinated  to 
this  office  as  a  preparation  to  Holy  orders ! "  Cyprian,  for  example, 
writes  "Aurelius  "  (a  candidate  for  the  Priesthood)  "  was  first  to  begin 
with  the  office  of  reading."  The  "Lector,"  standing  in  the  pulpit, 
"read  alone  from  the  Scriptures,"  without  aid  from  the  people. 


THE   DECADENCE   OF   THE   CHURCH.  195 

prayer,  all  the  people  rise  *  and  turn  to  the  East,  with  closed 
eyes  and  upraised  hands,  while  the  "  Lord's  prayer "  and 
other  more  formal  petitions,  are  recited  by  him  in  their  be- 
half, in  place  of  the  simple  impromptu  cry  of  the  hungry 
or  burdened  soul  for  its  own  needs,  or  an  earnest  supplica- 
tion for  those  of  the  people,  from  any  man  or  woman  in  the 
congregation.  The  appointed  Congregational  singing  fol- 
lows in  course;  no  longer  now  a  spontaneous,  heart-felt  ca- 
dence of  praise  from  the  individual  worshippers,  young  and 
old  together,  but  a  regular  artistic  service  of  antiphonal  song, 
— first,  as  we  have  seen,  introduced  by  the  heretical  Arians, 
and  afterward  adopted  universally  by  the  Catholic  Church. 
The  Bishop's  "  sermon  "  is  either  an  elaborate  homily  on 
the  passages  of  Scripture  which  have  been  read,  or  a  care- 
fully prepared  rhetorical  discourse  on  a  selected  subject,  in- 
stead of  the  fervent  utterance  of  the  inspired  "  prophet "  or 
"  evangelist "  or  "  teacher,"  or  of  some  member  of  the  congre- 
gation.! 

*  Clement,  of  Alexandria,  with  others  of  the  latter  Fathers,  enjoined, 
"  Let  prayers  be  made  toward  the  East, — because  the  East  is  the  Rep- 
resentative of  our  spiritual  nativity,  as  from  thence  the  true  light  first 
arose." 

Again  {King,  pp.  22,  23),  "  The  Congregation  being  thus  turned 
toward  the  East,  they  put  themselves  into  a  posture  of  i^rayer, — stretch- 
ing out  their  hands,  and  closing  their  eyes  from  all  outward  objects," 
etc.,  etc. 

f  Guericke,  among  other  Historians,  thus  describes  the  preaching  of 
this  period,  as  contrasted  with  that  of  the  Primitive  Church :  "  The 
sermon,  in  the  earliest  times  was  no  doubt  an  unpremeditated  effusion ; 
and  the  more  so  the  nearer  the  times  were  to  the  original  simplicity  of 
the  Gospel ;  when  the  memory  of  the  free  manifestation  of  the  Charis- 
mata had  not  as  yet  died  entirely  away.  In  later  times  it  was  either  the 
filling  up  of  a  previously  Avell  meditated  sketch, — or  was  even  delivered 
viemoritei\  in  full."  *"  Some  openly  adopted  and  recited  in  the  Church, 
the  sermons  of  other    distinguished  jiersons."  ..."  In    the   case  of 


/ 


f 


196  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

Prominent  now  among  the  liturgical  services,  we  note  the 
elaborate  celebration  of  the  ''Eucharist,''  which  has  taken 
the  place  of  the  common  public  meal  {communion)  of  rich 
and  poor  together,  called  the  "  Love-feast "  or  "  Lord's  Sup- 
per." 

There  were  doubtless  many  earnest  and  sincere  worship- 
pers gathered  there,  and  many  useful  truths  were  imparted 
and  good  impressions  made.  Yet  the  Apostle  Paul  would 
hardly  have  recognized  in  such  services  his  own  ideal  de- 
scription (1  Cor.  xiv.  26)  of  one  of  the  assemblies  of  the  Prim- 
itive Christians  for  the  public  adoration  of  Almighty  God, 
in  the  name  of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ;  who  had  Himself  de- 
clared that  our  Heavenly  Father  would  have  His  children 
"  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

A  few  centuries  later,  and  the  contrast  was  still  more 
marked  and  sorrowful.  Instrumental  music,  processional 
pageantry,  the  display  of  images  and  paintings,  the  swing- 
ing of  censers  of  burning  incense  and  the  elevation  of  the 
Host  in  the  Mass,  with  a  dumb  show  of  ritualistic  perfor- 
mances in  an  unknown  tongue,  and  all  the  countless  mum- 
meries of  an  idolatrous  superstition,  supplanted  for  a  thou- 
sand years  the  simple  living  worship  of  the  early  Christian 

Church. 

The  great  Reformation  of  the  Sixteenth  century  restored 
to  the  people  much  of  the  purity  and  spirituality  of  the 


famous  preachers,  it  was  customary  for  their  sermons  to  be  taken  down 
on  delivery."  "  In  the  Eastern  Church,  the  sermon  assumed  a  wider 
range,  and  influenced  by  the  models  of  the  rhetorical  schools,  adopted 
a  more  learned  and  artificial  tone:'— (:'  Antiquities  of  the  Church,  p. 

217.) 


THE   DECADENCE   OF   THE   CHURCH.  197 

Trutli.  The  "  new  Revelation  {unveiling)  of  the  good,  old 
Gospel "  which  they  claimed,  opened  up  to  our  forefathers 
in  the  Seventeenth  century  still  wider  and  brighter  views 
of  the  liberty  and  power  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour's  New 
Covenant  disi:)ensation.  Thousands,  in  their  day,  rejoiced 
in  that  liberty  and  proved  its  mighty  power  to  proclaim 
deliverance  to  the  captive  and  peace  to  the  troubled  soul. 
In  its  simple  acceptance,  the  weary  found  rest  and  the  hun- 
gry and  thirsty  were  satisfied: 

Shall  we  hold  fast  that  priceless  heritage,  or  shall  we 
carelessly  surrender  it?  Shall  we  "stand  fast  in  the  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  hath  made  us  free,"  or  shall  we  consent 
to  be  "  entangled  with  any  yoke  of  bondage  "  ? 

This  is  the  great  question  of  the  hour;  and  to  aid  in  the 
intelligent  and  momentous  decision,  which  every  one  must 
make  individually  in  regard  to  it,  I  have  sought  thus  earn- 
estly, though  in  great  physical  weakness,  to  gather  together 
some  evidences  of  the  excellency  and  jDower  of  the  simple 
Gos]3el  of  Christ  to  win  the  world  to  Him. 

There  was  a  proverb  of  old  time,  that  "  The  truth  is  the 
truth  though  all  men  should  forsake  it,"  and  a  still  more 
ancient  and  familiar  maxim,  ''''Magna  est  Veritas  et  proiva- 
lebitr 

"  It  will  prevail,"  in  the  end,  over  all  opposition  or  neglect; 
prevail  with  us  or  without  us,  through  us  or  over  us.  Tliere- 
fore  it  is  declared  that  we  can  really  "  do  nothing  against 
the  truth  but  for  it."  Our  efforts  and  our  lives  will  but 
tend  to  establish  it  or  to  exemplify  it,  whether  through 
our  own  success  or  failure. 


198  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

It  is  tlie  earnest  prayer  of  the  writer,  for  himself  and  for 
all  whom  these  lines  shall  reach,  that  we  may  in  the  end  be 
accounted  by  our  Lord,  "  when  He  writeth  up  His  people," 
among  those  who,  in  their  generation,  faithfully  stood  and 
if  need  were  fearlessly  suffered,  for  the  maintenance  of  His 
pure,  unchanging  Truth/'^ 

Thomas  Kimber. 

RiCHMOXD  Hill,  N.  Y.,  1889. 

*  I  cannot  close  these  Essays  without  acknowledging  the  warm  en- 
couragement and  co-operation,  always  extended  to  me  by  Dr.  Henry 
Hartshorne,  the  able  editor  of  the  "  Friends'  Review,"  during  the  past 
three  years.  Patiently  awaiting  their  slow  appearances  at  times, — 
always  ready  to  give  them  honorable  place  and  mention, — while  care- 
fully looking  over  the  proof-sheets,  which  I  was  entirely  unable  to  do, 
— he  has  most  efficiently  aided  in  the  larger  work  of  their  permanent 
publication  in  this  form.  T.  K. 


THE  APOSTLE  PAUL 


AIS^D 


THE  GENTILE  CHURCHES. 


THE  APOSTLE    PAUL  AND  TITE 
GENTILE  CHURCHES. 


■f 


Ax  impression  seems  to  have  been  left  on  some  minds,  by 
a  cursory  reading  of  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians  and  to 
the  other  Gentile  Churches,  that  these  congregations  were 
deficient  either  in  willingness  or  in  ability  to  make  suitable 
provision  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel  ministry  within 
their  borders,  and  that  it  was  on  this  account  that  the  Apos- 
tle Paul  refused  to  receive  from  them  any  pecuniary  aid, 
while  laboring  in  their  midst. 

It  has  been  also  suggested  that  a  different  spirit  and  prac- 
tice prevailed  among  the  Jewish  Christian  Churches ;  and 
that  these  were  held  by  him  to  a  more  strict  and  almost  a 
legal  responsibility,  in  this  regard;  which  he  relaxed,  in 
condescension  to  their  weakness  and  ignorance,  in  the  case 
of  the  Gentile  congregations. 

POVERTY   OF   JEWISH   CHRISTIANS.  \ 

There  appears  to  be  no  ground  whatever  for  such  a  theory. 
The  early  Christian  Churches  at  Jerusalem  and  in  Judea, 
are  always  represented  to  have  been  in  a  chronic  state  of 
poverty  and  even  of  desperate  need.  They  were  not  only  un- 
able to  support  any  order  of  ministry  among  themselves,  or 
any  missionary  effort  among  the  nations  around  them,  but 


202  HISTOEICAL   ESSAYS. 

were  so  hopelessly  depressed  and  degraded  by  tlie  bitter 
hostility  and  persecution  of  the  Jewish  hierarchy,  that  it 
was  imioossible  for  them  to  provide  for  their  own  poor;  who 
from  the  very  first,  were  objects  of  charity  with  the  newly 
formed  Gentile  Churches  in  Europe  and  Asia. 

This  severe  pressure  upon  the  Jewish  Christians,  with  all 
its  attendant  discouragement  and  demoralization,  continued 
until  their  providential  dispersion  immediately  before  the 
final  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  consequent  annihila- 
tion of  the  old  Jewish  jDriesthood, and  power;  which  events 
occurred  some  years  after  the  death  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 

There  is  nothing  more  admirable  in  the  whole  history  of 

/  the  Christian  Church,  than  the  generous  and  warm-hearted 

responses  which  these  young  and  weak   communities  so 

promptly  made  to  the  Apostle's  earnest  appeals  on  behalf  of 

their  Jewish  brethren  for  assistance. 

They  had  themselves  been  only  recently  gathered,  and 
mostly  from  the  lower  orders  of  society ;  "  not  many  mighty 
or  noble  having  been  called,"  God  having  chosen  "  the  weak 
things  of  the  world  and  the  things  that  are  despised  and 
base  to  confound  the  things  that  are  mighty,  and  the  things 
that  are  not  to  bring  to  nought  the  things  that  are  "  (1 
Cor.  i.  26-28,  R.  V.).  They  were  enduring,  moreover,  at  the 
very  time  of  these  contributions,  "  much  proof  of  afiliction  " 
(2  Cor.  viii.  1-3)  and  "deep  poverty;"  yet  they  grandly 
rose  to  the  emergency,  and  first  "  giving  themselves  to  the 
Lord,"  *  in  which  entire  consecration  were  involved  all  their 

*  This  personal  consecration,  which  the  Apostle  Paul  speaks  of,  as 
the  first  step  of  the  "Pliilippian  believers,    C3    Gor.  viii.  5),  was  the 


THE   GENTILE   CHURCHES.  203 

outward  possessions,  they  then  realized  that  these  very  trials 
"abounded  unto  the  richness  of  their  liberality,"  to  the 
"  saints  at  Jerusalem,"  who  were  in  yet  greater  need. 

THE   COEINTHIAN   CHURCH. 

The  Corinthian  Church  first  planned  these  general  collec- 
tions, and  had  already  at  the  time  the  Apostle  wrote  made 
some  progress  therein,  having,  as  he  told  the  Macedonian 
congregations,  been  prepared  for  such  action  a  year  before 
anv  of  the  other  Gentile  Churches  (2  Cor.  viii.  10,  11 ;  and 
ix.  1-3). 

Nor  was  this  Church  backward  in  responding  again  at 
this  time  to  the  urgent  appeal  of  the  Apostle  from  Philippi, 
to  "  complete  the  doing  "  (R.  V.)  of  this  noble  work.  We 
read,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  written  very  soon  after- 
ward at  Corinth  on  his  way  to  the  relief  of  his  Jewish 
brethren:  "And  now  I  go  to  Jersualem,  ministering  to  them. 
For  it  hath  been  the  good  pleasure  of  Macedonia  and 
Achaia  "  (which  included  the  Churches  at  Philippi,  Thessa- 
lonica,  and  Corinth),  "  to  make  a  certain  contribution  for  the 
poor  among  the  saints  at  Jerusalem.  Yea  it  hath  been  their 
good  pleasure,  and  their  debtors  they  are.  For  if  the  Gen- 
tiles have  been  partakers  of  their  spiritual  things,  they  owe 

p^olden  rule  of  the  early  Church.  More  than  a  century  afterward,  one 
of  the  5'athers  thus  writes : 

"As  the  fairest  possession,  we  give  up  ourselves  to  God:  entirely  lov- 
ing Him,  and  reckoning  this  the  great  business  of  our  lives.  No  man 
is,  with  us,  accounted  a  Christian  or  entitled  truly  great  or  generous, 
but  he  that  is  godly  and  religious.  .  .  . 

"  Nor  does  any  one  further  bear  the  image  of  God,  than  as  he  believes, 
and  speaks,  what  is  just  and  holy."— (67ew,  of  Alexandria,  a.d.  19(5.) 


204  HISTOKICAL   ESSAYS, 

to  them  also  (the  Jewish  Church)  to  minister  unto  them  in 
carnal  things  "  {Romans,  xv.  25-27,  R.  V.). 

ISTot  only  in  the  Scripture  narratives  and  in  the  Apostolic 
Epistles  do  we  find  abundant  evidence  of  their  liberality 
and  devotion,  but  these  are  amply  confirmed  by  the  contem- 
porary records  of  sacred  and  profane  writers.  "  Corinthian 
hospitality^''  was  a  j)roverb  among  all.  In  the  first  Epistle 
of  Clement  of  Rome  to  the  Corinthians,  a.d.  96  (universally 
admitted  to  be  genuine  and  publicly  read  in  many  of  the 
Churches),  he  speaks  to  the  next  generation  in  terms  of  high 
praise  of  their  fathers,  who  had  lovingly  received  all  the 
Apostle  Paul's  admonitions,  and  had  faithfully  acted  upon 
them,  so  that  their  religion  and  manner  of  life  were  admired 
by  all, 

"  Who,"  says  he,  "  did  ever  dwell  among  you,  that  did  not 
approve  of  your  excellent  and  unshaken  faith :  did  not  won- 
der at  your  sober  piety  in  Christ  ?"..."  You  were  for- 
ward to  every  good  work,  adorned  with  a  most  virtuous  and 
venerable  conversation;  doing  all  in  the  fear  of  God,  and 
having  His  laws  and  commands  written  upon  the  tables  of 
your  hearts." 

Again,  "  You  were  all  of  you  humble-minded,  '  more  will- 
ingly giving  than  receiving ' "     {Clem.  Ep.  ad  Corinth.*). 


*  The  original  Greek  text  is  before  me,  but  its  exact  interpretation  is 
so  important  in  this  place,  that  I  have  preferred  to  give  the  translations 
of  such  scholars  as  Dr.  Cave  and  Nathaniel  Lardner,  so  that  no  ques- 
tion of  phraseology  may  arise  in  the  mind  of  the  reader.  These  emi- 
nent authorities  agree  with  the  general  judgment  of  the  Chui-ch,  in  its 
testimony  to  the  undoubted  authenticity  of  this  First  Epistle  of  Clem- 
ent of  Rome :  the  friend  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  referred  to  as  one  of  those 
"  fellow-laborers  whose  names  are  in  the  Book  of  Life  "  {Phil.  iv.  3). 


TIIK    GENTILE   CHURCHES.  205 

Moreover  the  terms  used  by  the  Apostle  attest  the  joyful 
readiness  with  which  they  performed  this  Christian  duty 
toward  their  destitute  Jewish  brethren. 

"  It  hath  pleased  them  verily,"  he  reports  (or  as  the  new 
version  renders  it, "  It  hath  been  their  good  pleasure  I  say  "), 
"to  make  a  certain  contribution  for  the  poor  among  the 
saints  which  are  at  Jerusalem." 

As  the  Speaker's  Commentary  remarks  on  this  passage, 
the  word  used  in  the  original  {£>><)<r/.Ti<7av)  "expresses  the 
benevolent  pleasure  of  a  cheerful  giver."  Meyer  also,  on 
the  Greek  word  {y.mvmviav)  translated  ''^contribution,^''  sig- 
nifies it  as  meaning  not  a  mere  cold  charity  but  heartfelt 
"  communion?''  He  says,  "  The  contributor  enters  into  fel- 
loiosJiip  with  the  person  aided,  inasmuch  as  he  shares  in  his 
necessities." 

Although  the  Corinthian  Church  had,  through  inexperi- 
ence and  un watchfulness  at  this  period,  permitted  too  many 
to  remain  within  its  lines  of  outward  communion  who  had 
fallen  into  various  irregularities,  and  some  even  into  open 
and  grievous  sins,  yet  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  those  who 
Avere  "  sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus,''' — the  great  body  of  its 
membership,  had  thus  backslidden.  The  Gospel  net,  as  our 
Saviour  had  foretold  would  be  the  case,  had  gathered  when 
first  cast  into  the  sea  all  manner  of  fishes,  "  both  good  and 
bad"  {Matt.  xiii.  47,  48),  but  the  Church  was  prompt  to 
remedy  the  evils  which  the  Apostle  pointed  out  as  having 
crept  into  it  unawares,  and  as  we  read  in  Paul's  Second 
Epistle,  and  more  fully  in  the  First  Epistle  of  Clement,  al- 
ready aUuded  to,  it  had  not  only  dealt  fearlessly  with  the 


\ 


206  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

offenders  but  had  walked  humbly  and  blamelessly  before 
the  Lord,  thereafter. 

Then  there  are  strong  tributes,  in  this  very  Epistle,  of 
warning  and  admonition,  which  prove  that  many  noble  gifts 
and  graces  even  then  adorned  the  Corinthian  Church,  such 
as  these: 

"  I  thank  my  God  always  on  your  behalf  for  the  grace  of 
God  which  is  given  you  by  Jesus  Christ  .  .  .  so  tliat  ye 
come  'behind  in  no  gift "  (1  Cor.  i.  4,  7).  "All  things  are 
yours  and  ye  are  Christ's  and  Christ  is  God's  "  (iii.  22,  23). 

"  Now  I  praise  you  that  ye  remember  me  in  all  things  and 
hold  fast  the  traditions  (R.  V.,  Gr.  -KapaUazii),  "  even  as  I 
delivered  them  to  you  "  (xi.  2). 

"  Therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  immov- 
able, always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch 
as  ye  know  that  your  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord  " 
(xv.  58). 

"  Finally,  brethren,  farewell.  Be  perfected  "  (literally  fully 
restored,  ■/.arapri'^znOe)  .  .  .  "live  in  x^eace  and  the  God  of 
love  and  peace  shall  be  with  you  "  (2  Cor.  xiii.  11). 

The  Apostle  closes  his  last  Ei^istle  to  these  Christian  be- 
lievers, with  the  most  loving  and  comprehensive  benediction 
which  occurs  in  any  of  his  writings ;  the  only  one  in  Avhicli 
is  incorporated  with  the  message  of  "  grace  and  peace  from 
God  the  Father  and  the  Son,"  "  the  communion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  "  which  form  has  been  adopted,  it  may  be  often  too 
lightly,  as  the  fullest  exi)ression  of  the  Lord's  love  and 
blessing  to  the  Church  universal,  since  that  day. 


THE   GENTILE   CHUKCHES.  207 


THE   CHURCHES   OF   GALATIA   AND    COLOSSI,  f 

The  "  Churches  of  Galatia  "  were  the  Christian  congrega- 
tions gathered  among  those  fierce  migratory  Gallic  or  Kel- 
tic tribes,  who  had  settled  in  Asia  Minor  after  their  warlike 
campaigns  in  Italy  and  Greece,  and  had  only  recently  been 
incorporated  as  a  x^rovince  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

They  had  all  the  natural  versatility  of  their  race,  and  had 
been  grievously  influenced  by  false  Jewish  brethren;  but 
the  question  of  their  personal  relations  toward  the  Apostle, 
is  settled  by  the  single  j^assage  of  his  Epistle  where  he  tes- 
tifies to  their  free-handed  generosity  and  loving  reception 
{Gal.  iv.  13, 14,  15). 

"Ye  did  me  no  wrong;  .  .  .  but  ye  received  me  as  an 
angel  of  God,  even  as  Christ  Jesus.  .  .  .  For  I  bear  you  wit- 
ness that  if  possible  ye  would  have  plucked  out  your  eyes 
and  given  them  to  me  "  *  (R.  Y.). 

Unlike  the  mercurial  Galatians,  the  Christians  of  Colossse       *L 
were  extremely  conservative,  dwelling  around  that  ancient 
city  and  in  the  beautiful  valleys  of  Phrygia ;    quietly  main-    , 
taining  their  old  customs  and  refusing,  even  to  their  own 
disadvantage,  to  adopt  the  Roman  manners  and  fashions  of 
the  day. 

Here  Christianity  flourished  for  nearly  three  centuries, 

*The  word  "  own,"  which  occurs  in  the  King  James  translation,  and 
which  has  led  to  a  misconception  of  this  passage,  is  not  found  in  the 
original  text,  nor  in  the  Revised  Version. 

Dean  Howson  says ;  "  The  phrase  used  by  St.  Paul  was  a  proverbial 
mode  of  expressing  the  utmost  devotion.  Wetstein  gives  several  exam- 
ples; '  Your  very  eye*-'  would  give  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  correctly." 


208  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

the  converts  proving  as  steadfast  to  tlieir  new  f aitli  as  to  their 
old  social  traditions. 

The  Apostle,  at  the  opening  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Colossi- 
ans,  pays  this  tribute  to  their  practical  faith:  "We  give 
thanks  to  God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  pray- 
ing always  for  you,  having  heard  of  your  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus  and  of  tlie  love  lolilch  ye  have  toward  all  the  saints  " 
(chaxD.  i.  3,  4) ;  and  again  (verse  6)  for  "  the  Gospel  which  is 
come  unto  you  .  .  .  hearing  fruit  and  increasing  as  it  doth 
in  you  also  since  the  day  you  heard  and  knew  the  grace  of 
God  in  truth." 

^  EPHESUS. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  describes,  with  a  vivid  power 
scarcely  found  elsewhere,  even  in  the  great  Apostle's  writ- 
ings, the  wonderful  change  ever  wrought  in  those  who  "  hav- 
ing believed  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  are  sealed  with  His 
Holy  Spirit  of  promise ;  which  is  an  earnest  of  our  inheri- 
tance, unto  the  redemption  of  God's  own  possession  unto 
the  praise  of  His  glory  "  {Eph.  i.  13,  14,  R.  V.). 

He  rejoices  together  with  them,  that ''  God  being  rich  in 
mercy,  for  His  great  love  wherewith  He  loved  us,  even  when 
we  were  dead  through  trespasses  and  sins  hath  quickened 
us  together  with  Christ,  and  raised  us  up  with  Him  and 
made  us  to  sit  with  Him  in  the  heavenly  places  in  Christ." 
(Chap.  ii.  4,  5,  6.) 

"  Remember,"  said  he,  "  that  ye  were  at  one  time  separate 
from  Christ "  (verse  12)  .  .  .  "  strangers  from  the  covenant  of 
promise;    having  no  hope  and  without  God  in  the  world." 


THE  GENTILE   CHURCHES.  209 

..."  But  now  "  (verse  19),  "  in  Christ  Jesus,  ye  that  once 
were  afar  off  are  made  nigh  in  the  blood  of  Christ: "... 
"  So  that  ye  are  no  more  strangers  and  sojourners,  but  ye  are 
fellow-citizens  of  the  saints  and  of  the  household  of  God." 

Yet  although  thus  owning  his  sweet  fellowship  with  the 
Ephesian  believers,  in  their  earthly  communion  and  in  their 
Heavenly  hope  for  the  glorious  "  age  to  come  "  (verse  7),  the 
Apostle  tells  us  in  another  place  {Acts^  xx.  31-35),  that  in 
the  three  years  in  which  he  had  "  labored  among  them  night 
and  day,"  he  had  set  them  an  example  of  personal  indepen- 
dence and  industry;  "coveting  no  man's  silver  or  gold  and 
working  with  his  own  hands,"  not  only  to  support  "  him- 
self, but  those  who  were  with  him."  He  gives  us  the  reason 
for  this  preference:  "  Remembering  the  words  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  how  He  said,  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive ;  "  and  as  he  tells  us  elsewhere  he  wanted  the  greater 
blessing,  the  chief  est  "reward  "  (1  Cor.  ix.  18). 

THESSALONICA.  ^ 

The  Apostle  salutes  the  Thessalonian  Church  thus  :  "  We 
give  thanks  to  God  always  for  you  all "  .  .  .  "  remembering 
without  ceasing  your  work  of  faith  and  labor  of  love  and 
patience  of  hope  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  .  .  .  "And  ye  be- 
came imitators  of  us  and  of  the  Lord,  having  received  the 
word  in  much  affliction,  with  joy  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  that 
ye  became  an  ensample  to  all  that  believe  in  Macedonia  and 
Achaia  "...  and  "  in  every  place  your  faith  to  Godward  is 
gone  forth  so  that   we    need  not  to  speak   anything"  (1 

Thess.  i.  0,  8,  R.  V.). 
14 


210  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

His  own  motives  in  his  service  among  them  he  thus  de- 
scribes :  "  Being  affectionately  desirous  of  you  v^e  were  much 
pleased  to  impart  unto  you  not  the  Gospel  of  God  only,  but 
also  our  own  souls,  because  ye  were  become  very  dear  unto 
us." 
/  Yet  he  adds:  "  Ye  remember,  brethren,  our  labor  and  trav- 

ail; working  night  and  day  that  we  might  not  burden  any 
of  you  we  preached  unto  you  the  Gospel  of  God,"  (ii.  8,  9). 

No  wonder  that  he  is  able  afterward  to  "  thank  God  with- 
out ceasing  that  when  they  received  from  him  the  word  of 
the  message  they  accepted  it  not  as  tlie  word  of  men^  but  as 
it  is  in  truth  the  word  of  God  which  worketh  in  them  that 
believe  (verse  13). 

Again  in  his  Second  Epistle  he  states,  as  he  did  to  the 
Ephesian  Elders,  his  personal  reasons  for  this  course  (2 
Thess.  iii.  8-10, 12)  that  he  might  be  an  "  ensample  unto 
them,  that  they  should  imitate  him;  that  with  quietness 
they  might  work  and  eat  their  own  bread." 
"4s  Before  passing  from  the  Epistles,  of  Paul  to  the  Thessalo- 

nians,  it  may  not  be  without  intei'est  to  take  note  briefly  of 
the  undue  and  evidently  mistaken  expectation  which  pre- 
vailed among  them,  with  regard  to  the  immediate  personal 
coming  of  our  Lord  to  execute  judgment  upon  the  earth. 

Whether  this  almost  morbid  apprehension  had  been  awak- 
ened, in  the  first  place,  by  his  own  earnest  preaching  we  are 
not  definitely  informed.  It  would  seem  that  he,  as  well  as 
others  of  the  Ai^ostles,  found  reason  to  modify  their  views 
upon  this  subject  as  time  passed  on,  and  the  Divine  pur- 
poses in  regard  to  the  gradual  spread  of  Christ's  spiritual 


THE    GENTILE    CIIURCHES.  211 

kingdom  upon  the  earth  became  more  apparent  and  were 
every  year  being  more  fully  realized. 

It  was  perhaps  a  natural  sequence  of  the  recent  dazzling 
and  wonderful  opening  of  eternal  mysteries  to  his  raptured 
vision,  when  "  caught  up  to  the  third  Heaven  "  a  few  years 
before,  where  he  heard  "  unspeakable  words  it  was  not  law- 
ful for  man  to  utter  "  (2  Cor.  xii.  2-4),  that  in  his  early  min- 
istry he  should  foreshorten,  as  it  were,  the  grand  vista  of 
futurity  that  had  been  unveiled  before  him;  overlooking 
the  truth  that  "  one  day  with  the  Lord  is  as  a  thousand  years 
and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day  " ;  his  eye  being  fixed  less 
on  things  temporal  than  on  the  unseen  things  which  are  eter- 
nal— the  only  realities  after  all.* 

Yet  in  his  Second  Epistle  he  evidently  seeks  to  check  any 
tendency  to  an  extreme  or  unauthorized  doctrine  in  regard 
to  this  important  truth. f 

*  Dr.AVilliam  L.  Pearson  called  attention  some  months  ago,  in  a  series 
of  able  articles  in  the  Friends'  Review — "  on  the  study  of  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures,"  to  the  peculiar  form  of  language  of  the  inspired  prophets 
of  Israel ;  which  seemed  so  to  merge  the  future  with  the  past,  in  their 
vivid  descriptions,  that  the  present  was  entirely  lost  and  swallowed  up 
in  a  sense  of  the  sure  fulfilment  of  the  Divine  vision  which  absorbed 
the  mind  of  the  Seer;  who  is  often  found  recording  the  far-off  pro- 
phecy in  the  language  of  a  history  already  accomplished. 

t  Bishop  Alexander,  of  Derry,  in  his  Introduction  to  this  Epistle, 
thus  truly  says : 

"  One  vision  fills  the  souls  of  the  Thessalonian  converts,— that  of  the 
great  Coming.  At  first  it  is  in  danger  of  assuming  fanatical  propor- 
tions, and  shaking  their  lives  to  the  very  centre.  A  few  calm  words  in 
the  Second  Epistle,  plead  for  the  honor  of  the  great  Advent,  and  of  the 
majestic  gathering  to  the  Redeemer.  .  .  .  "When  men  seek  to  state  the 
exact  day,  and  that  a  near  day,  St.  Paul,  speaking  through  the  ages, 
blames  such  fanaticism,  and  points  us  back  to  our  Lord's  words.  He 
puts  down  the  childish  fingers  that  count  the  number  of  the  days.  Of 
that  day  and  hour  knosveth  no  one.  Every  one  who  has  listened  care- 
fully to  the  New  Testament  has  heard  in  it  the  strokes  of  a  grand  and 
solemn  knell  over  creation.     This  knell,  indeed,  is  much  older  than  the 


\ 


\ 


212  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

Perhaps  in  the  fiery  ordeal  through  which  the  Christian 
Churches  were  then  passing,  it  was  divinely  permitted  that 
an  immediate  expectation  of  the  coming  of  their  Lord  and 
King  to  avenge  speedily  His  suffering  saints  and  to  right  all 
that  seemed  so  wrong  on  earth,  should  be  almost  universal 
among  them.  It  seemed  to  soften  their  affliction  and  to 
brighten  with  a  glorious  hope  the  shadows  around  them. 

But  "  God's  ways  are  not  as  our  ways."  His  purposes  of 
^  mercy  and  His  heart  of  love  embrace  both  the  oppressor  and 

the  oppressed.  He  is  patient  because  He  is  Almighty,  and 
long  suffering  because  He  is  eternal. 

THE   CHURCH    AT    PHILIPPI. 

We  come  now  to  a  consideration  of  the  most  satisfactory 
of  all  the  Gentile  Churches,  the  congregation  at  Philippi; 
the  only  Church,  whether  Jewish  or  Gentile,  of  which  we 
have  any  record  that  the  Apostle  Paul  accepted  pecuniary 
aid  in  the  whole  course  of  his  life's  service. 


New  Testament.  The  first  two  prophecies  are  of  the  first  and  second 
Advent.  When  man  had  only  come  from  his  Maker's  hand  about  a 
thousand  years,  Enoch  rung  it  first:  '  Behold  the  Lord  cometh! '  The 
Church  has  been  waiting  five  thousand  years.  But  the  aged  Creation 
lingers  on  still.  The  priests  of  Gfod  stand  waiting  at  the  gate,  and  the 
bell  tolls  on,  but  the  funeral  train  has  not  yet  apijeared.  .  .  . 

"  Ever  and  anon  there  pierce  through  the  tangled  story,  strange  fore- 
gleams  of  the  judgment  fires  and  of  the  heavenly  light.  .  .  .  Such,  to 
a  believing  mind,  is  the  aspect  of  history.  Still  the  eagles  are  gather- 
ing together.  Still  the  breath  of  Spring  ripples  through  the  trees. 
Still  He  comes  with  clouds.  Still  the  saints  cry,  '  The  great  day  of  the 
Lord  is  near.'  So  has  it  been  through  many  cycles  of  history;  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem,  the  fall  of  Rome,  the  Reformation,  the  French 
Revolution,  our  own  time.  So  shall  it  be  until,  after  passing  through 
all  typical  judgments,  the  Last  Judgment  chall  darken  over  the  human 
race." — {Speakefs  Commentary,  pp.  693,  694,  696.) 


THE    GENTILE    CHURCHES.  213 

The  peculiar  circumstances  under  which  it  had  been  first 
gathered  were  so  unpropitious,  that  the  outlook  seemed 
gloomy  indeed  for  any  wide  oj)ening  for  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel  in  that  city.  Its  after  history,  however,  with  the 
evidences  of  its  consecrated  life  and  works  as  preserved  to 
us  in  the  sacred  records  and  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of 
the  early  Fathers  and  Historians  of  the  Church,  are  most 
instructive  and  encouraging  to  all  Christian  workers,  from 
that  day  to  our  own. 

The  Apostle  and  his  companions,  in  obedience  to  a  Heav- 
enly vision  (Acts,  xvi.  9-40),  came  "  over  into  Macedonia " 
and  entered  into  its  chief  city  quietly,  spending  some  days 
apxjarently  in  arranging  for  their  temporal  wants. 

Going  forth  on  the  Sabbath  to  the  river  side,  they  sat 
down  with  a  few  women  and  preached  to  them  the  Gospel 
of  Christ. 

One  faithful  hearer,  who  had  already  worshipped  the  true 
God,  gave  heed  to  the  things  spoken ;  and  undoubtedly  the 
Lord  "  opened  her  heart,"  not  only  to  a  loving  reception  of 
the  message  but  also  of  the  messengers  of  His  word,  and 
she  constrained  them,  as  the  evidence  of  their  faith  in  her 
true  conversion,  that  they  should  accept  from  her  the  hos- 
pitalities of  a  Christian  home. 

Their  own  hearts  were  evidently  prepared  of  the  Lord  for 
this;  and  the  same  open-hearted  generosity  on  the  part  of 
the  young  Church  at  Philippi,  first  gathered  in  her  house, 
was  lovingly  extended  to  the  Apostle  Paul  and  accepted  by 
him  not  only  during  his  short  tarriance  at  Philippi  but  at 
intervals  throughout  his  after  life-work  in  other  places  and 


214  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

finally  during    his  imprisonment    under    Nero,   at    Rome 
{PMUppians  iv.  10-18;  Acts,  xvii.  10-14;  2  Cor.  xi.  9.). 

As  Dean  Grwynn  so  well  says,  it  is  evident  that  "  on  the 
Apostle's  part  the  feelings  elsewhere  so  sensitively  averse  to 
the  semblance  of  dependence,  vibrate  with  keen  pleasure  in 
response  to  the  offerings  of  his  beloved  Philippians.  .  .  . 
His  acceptance  of  that  bounty  is  distinctly  stated  to  be  an 
exceptional  mark,  granted  to  no  other  church,  of  his  affec- 
tionate relations  with  them;  and  thus  (the  exception  prov- 
ing the  rule)  confirms  by  implication,  what  he  elsewhere 
declares  of  his  habitual  independence,  and  shows  his  Apos- 
tolic dignity  maintained  in  integrity,  no  less  full  here  in 
receiving,  than  there  in  rejecting  a  benefit." 

This  view  is  also  taken  by  Bengel  and  Dean  Alford,  as 
well  as  by  Dr.  Paley,  and  others. 

The  entire  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Philippians  manifests  a 
closer  relation  and  a  more  loving  communion  with  them, 
than  existed  between  the  Apostle  and  any  other  of  the 
churches. 

Save  an  earnest  entreaty  to  two  prominent  women,  who 
seemed  to  have  had  a  personal  difference,  there  is  hardly  a 
word  of  censure,  as  though  anything  were  wrong  in  their 
life,  or  in  their  faith. 

"  No  trace  of  moral  fault  to  be  rebuked,  nor  hint  of  doc- 
trinal error;  nothing  to  mar  the  thankful  joy  with  which 
their  father  in  Christ  dwells  on  the  contemplation  of  their 
faith  and  love  "  (Gwynn). 

To  the  Church  at  Philippi  we  owe  that  grand  and  com- 
prehensive answer  to  one  of  its  earliest  converts,  who  turned 


THE   GENTILE   CHURCHES.  215 

in  the  agony  of  his  conviction  to  the  Apostles  whom  he  had 
grievously  injured,  with  the  earnest  appeal,  "  What  shall  I 
do  to  be  saved? "  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved,"  the  only  message  of  His  gospel  to  a 
repentant  sinner  which  the  ambassador  of  Christ  has  had 
any  scriptural  authority  to  proclaim,  from  that  day  to  this: 
{Acts,  xvi.  28-31;  John,  iii.  14-16). 

To  the  same  Church,  when  fully  organized  long  after- 
ward, we  owe  the  faithful  watchword  to  the  "  Saints  in 
Christ  Jesus,"  the  ministers  and  people  alike,  who  having 
thus  believed  had  been  saved  through  faith  in  Him,  and 
which  is  so  often  mistaken  for  the  message  to  the  sinner  : 
"  AVork  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling." 
That  is,  literally,  "  continue  to  its  completion  "  what  God 
hath  wrought  in  you ;  not  with  a  slavish  fear,  but  with  that 
holy  fear  which  is  the  "  beginning  of  wisdom,"  and  "  as  a 
fountain  of  life  preserving  from  the  snares  of  death."  As 
the  Psalmist  had  said  long  before :  "  Serve  the  Lord  with 
fear  and  rejoice  with  trembling"  {Psalm  ii.  11). 

To  the  same  Church  we  are  indebted  for  that  humble  con- 
fession of  Paul  the  aged,  now  at  the  close  of  his  ministry, 
and  ready  to  be  offered  up,  which  is  in  such  striking  con- 
trast to  the  claims  of  so  many  professors  of  our  day :  "  Not 
that  I  have  already  obtained,  or  am  already  made  perfect: 
but  I  press  on,  if  so  be  that  I  may  apprehend  that  for  which 
also  I  was  apprehended  of  Christ  Jesus." 

"  Brethren,  1  count  not  myself  yet  to  have  apprehended ; 
but  one  thing  I  do, — forgetting  the  things  which  are  behind 
and  stretching  forward  to  the  things  which  are  before,  I 


216  HPSTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

press  on  toward  the  goal,  unto  the  prize  of  the  high  calling 
of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  "  {PMUppians,  iii.  12-14,  R.  V.)- 

To  these  "  brethren  beloved  qnd  longed  for,  his  joy  and 
crown,"  he  gives  that  wonderful  invitation  to  the  true  rest 
of  faith,  the  privilege  of  every  Christian  believer: 

"  The  Lord  is  at  hand.  In  nothing  be  anxious,  but  in 
everything  by  prayer  and  supplication,  with  thanksgiving, 
let  your  requests  be  made  known  unto  God.  And  the  peace 
of  God  which  passeth  all  understanding  shall  guard  your 
hearts  and  your  thoughts  in  Christ  Jesus,"  (iv.  1,  6,  7,  R.  V.) 

And  "  finally,"  the  loving  injunction  to  such  a  practical 
and  holy  watchfulness  of  life  and  conversation,  that  the 
"  words  of  the  mouth  and  the  meditation  of  the  heart "  may 
be  always  "acceptable  in  the  sight  of  our  Lord  and  Re- 
deemer." 

"Brethren,  whatsoever  things  are  true,  .  .  .  whatsoever 
things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever 
things  are  of  good  report  .  .  .  think  on  these  things.  .  .  . 
And  the  God  of  peace  shall  be  with  you." 

THE   APOSTLE   JOHN's   TESTIMOISTY. 

It  only  remains  to  notice  the  passage  in  the  Third  Epistle 
of  John,  sometimes  erroneously  quoted  to  show  that  an  ex- 
ceptional course  was  pursued  toward  the  Gentile  churches 
from  that  established  among  the  Jewish  Christians,  with 
regard  to  the  maintenance  of  the  Gospel  ministry  among 
them. 

An  examination  will  prove  clearly  that  neither  the  Jewish 


THE   GENTILE   CHURCHES.  217 

Clinrches,  nor  any  missionaries  from  them,  are  alluded  to 
in  these  verses,  nor  indeed  in  the  entire  Epistle. 

It  was  written,  as  Church  historians  inform  us,  at  Ephe- 
sus,  during  a  protracted  mission  which  the  Apostle  John 
undertook  to  the  Asiatic  churches  after  his  return  from 
Patmos ;  and  it  is  addressed  to  Gains  (or  Caius  more  liter- 
ally), a  prominent  member  of  another  Gentile  church. 

It  cannot  of  course  be  certainly  affirmed  that  he  was  iden- 
tical with  Gains  of  Corinth,  whose  hospitality  Paul  shared 
and  spoke  of  so  warmly  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  (xvi. 
23) :  "  Gains  mine  host,  and  of  the  whole  church,  saluteth 
you:  "  but  the  phraseology  used  by  the  Apostle  John  to  de- 
clare the  proverbial  reputation  of  his  correspondent  among 
the  Churches  would  seem  to  so  indicate ;  and,  other  corrobo- 
rating evidence  has  confirmed  this  belief,  with  many  ap- 
proved Bible  scholars. 

The  words  run  thus : 

"  The  Elder  unto  Gains  the  beloved,  whom  I  love  in  truth. 
.  .  .  Beloved,  thou  doest  a  faithful  work  in  whatsoever  thou 
doest  toward  them  that  are  brethren  and  strangers  withal, 
who  bare  witness  to  thy  love  before  the  church :  whom  thou 
wilt  do  well  to  set  forward  on  their  journey  worthily  of  God: 
because  that  for  the  sake  of  the  Name  they  went  forth,  tak- 
ing nothing  of  the  Gentiles.  We  therefore  ought  to  wel- 
come such,  that  we  may  be  fellow-workers  with  the  truth." 
(3  Jo7in,  1,  6,  6,  7,  8,  R.V.) 

The  simple  story  which  they  tell,  as  the  "  Speaker's  Com- 
mentary "  well  renders  it,  is  this: 

"  It  would  seem  that  St.  John  (probably  after  his  return 


218  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

from  Patmos  to  Ephesns)  had  sent  certain  members  of  the 
Ephesian  Church  for  the  pur^DOse  of  missionary  labor,  .  .  . 
to  the  Church  over  which  Caius  presided,  or  in  which  he 
exercised  considerable  influence,  possibly  at  Corinth.  .  ,  . 
They  were  welcomed  by  Caius  with  the  affection  which  be- 
came a  true  Christian  heart.  .  .  .  On  the  return  of  these  breth- 
ren, after  a  reception  so  Christian  and  hospitable,  they  wit- 
nessed to  the  goodness  of  Caius  before  the  Church  (verse  6), 
i.e.,  the  EiDliesian  Church.  These  brethren,  when  they  pre- 
sented themselves  to  Caius,  were  strangers." 

That  they  were  missionaries  to  the  '  Heathen'  is  univer- 
sally understood,  the  word  iihcxw'^  (heathen)  occurring  in 
five  ancient  Greek  manuscripts,  including  Tischendorf,  in- 
stead of  ^o>cuy  (nations)  in  the  received  text;  although  the 
latter  word  is  also  rendered,  "  heathen." 

These  evangelists  went  forth  from  the  Gentile  church  at 
Ephesus,  to  which  also  they  returned  and  reported  at  the 
close  of  their  mission ;  and  they  went  in  the  precious  Name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  receiving  only  the  needed  hospi- 
tality on  their  way,  that  they  might  manifest  to  the  heathen 
the  disinterested  nature  of  their  labors  amongst  them. 

A  distinguished  French  writer,  Abbe  Baunard,  thus  com- 
ments on  this  passage : 

"Hospitality  was  no  new  virtue  upon  that  soil  where 
Herodotus  and  Homer  had  received  and  celebrated  it.  Un- 
der the  Gospel,  hospitality  to  Christians  as  such  became 
one  of  the  first  and  most  necessary  of  Christian  virtues. 
.  .  .  Having  freely  received,  they  wished  to  give  freely. 
Charity  therefore  managed  to  arrange,  from  distance  to  dis- 


THE    GENTILK    CHUKOHKS.  219 

tance,  stations  of  hospitality  where  the  missionaries  and 
preachers  found  asylum,  assistance,  safe  conduct ;  not  wish- 
ing to  impose  any  charge  upon  the  heathen,  whose  souls 
and  nothing  else  the  Church  aspired  to  possess."  * 

The  whole  passage  quoted  from  this  Epistle,  remarkably 
confirms  the  position  taken  in  these  articles,  that  not  only 
Paul  and  Barnabas  but  all  the  early  Evangelists  of  the 
Christian  churches  went  forth  "  for  the  sake  of  the  Name," 
taking  nothing  'of  the  nations  to  whom  they  proclaimed  it.       \ 

Like  King  David,  they  were  unwilling  "  to  make  an  offer- 
ing to  the  Lord  of  that  which  cost  them  nothing;"  and 
"  coveted  no  man's  silver  or  gold,"  while  they  "  preached 
unto  the  nations  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ." 

There  is  another  lesson  to  draw  from  this  beautiful  sketch 
of  the  Apostle  John ;  the  obligation  that  rests  upon  all  the 
consecrated  members  of  the  Church  to  "  set  forward  worth- 
ily of  God^''  His  servants  and  messengers  on  their  journey, 
and  the  blessing  that  attends  such  hospitality. 

They  are  Ambassadors  of  our  Lord  and  King;  and  are  to 
be  honorably  received  and  assisted,  "for  the  sake  of  the 
!Name  "  in  which  they  go  forth. 

In  receiving  them,  we  are  receiving  Him ;  and  as  He  Him- 
self tells  us,  we  cannot  hope  to  enjoy  His  own  sweet  pres- 
ence until  we  are  also  ready  to  say,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  com- 
eth  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 


L'Apotre  Saint  Jean,  p.  401. 


*  T.' 


f 


220  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

JEWISH  ORDINANCES.* 

It  would  hardly  seem  fitting  to  pass  from  this  subject 
without  a  brief  consideration  of  that  severe  and  protracted 
struggle  which  the  great  Apostle  and  his  Gentile  converts 
were  obliged  to  maintain  with  the  Jewish  element  that  grad- 
ually became  incorporated  with  their  Church  organization ; 
as  well  as  against  the  oi)en  hostility  and  secret  machina- 
tions of  the  Sanhedrim  and  the  Synagogue,  whose  power- 
ful influence  seemed  to  environ  them  on  every  side. 

AVe  cannot  easily  over-estimate  the  great  obligation  which 
the  Christian  Church  ever  since  that  day,  has  i  ested  under 
to  this  faithful  Minister  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  and  to  his 
brave  and  devoted  followers,  for  their  steadfast  resistance 
to  that  severe  i)ressure,  from  within  and  from  without,  to  en- 
graft upon  its  worship  and  upon  the  confession  of  its  faith, 
the  ceremonial  rites  and  ordinances  of  the  old  Hebrew  law. 

The  peril  was  scarcely  greater  from  the  open  persecutions 
of  their  bitter  enemies,  the  Jews,  than  from  the  insidious 
efforts  of  secret  emissaries  in  their  very  midst,  who  were 
sent  to  spy  out  their  liberty  and  to  stir  up  dissensions 
among  the  brethren. 

Wholly    apart    moreover  from  these  organizea   efforts, 

*  It  seems  appropriate  here  to  record  the  testimony  of  my  dear  and 
honored  friend,  Isaac  Brown  of  England,  to  the  great  importance  of 
this  subject  of  the  "  Gentile  Churches ; "  and  to  note,  with  grateful  ap- 
preciation, his  cordial  approval  of  its  treatment  in  this  article. 

Although  the  weight  of  four  score  and  four  years  is  now  resting  upon 
him,  yet  with  warm  and  willing  interest  he  has  carefully  revised  the 
varied  essays  and  references,  in  this  volume;  and  I  have  largely  availed 
myself  of  his  accurate  scholarship,  and  his  mature  Christian  judgment, 
in  their  final  preparation  for  the  Press.  T.  K. 


THE   GENTILE   CHURCHES.  221 

were  the  questions  that  legitimately  arose  and  which  were 
as  yet  unsolved,  in  regard  to  the  reality  and  pennanency 
of  the  obligation  of  the  Old  Covenant  ritual  and  symbols; 
and  as  to  the  Divine  will  and  purpose  concerning  their 
perpetuation. 

The  first  message  of  the  Gospel  was  sounded  at  Jerusalem 
and  involved  simply  on  the  part  of  its  Jewish  hearers,  '*  re- 
pentance toward  God  and  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
Many  thousands  accepted  it;  and  even  those  who,  "by 
wicked  hands,"  had  "  crucified  the  Lord  of  Glory,"  "  had 
killed  the  Prince  of  Life,"  or  who  had  assented  to  His  death, 
were  convicted  of  their  sins  and  found  peace  and  pardon 
through  the  blood  of  His  cross. 

For  years  no  other  obligation  was  imposed  upon  them 
than  the  acceptance  of  Jesus,  their  Saviour,  as  the  i^romised 
Messiah.* 

As  the  Apostles  proved  to  them  from  the  Old  Covenant 
Scriptures  that  He  was  the  One  who  should  come,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  carried  home  a  conviction  of  this  truth,  they 
believed  and  confessed,  and  were  "  justified  from  all  things 
from  which  they  could  not  be  justified  by  the  law  of  Moses." 

*  Pressens<5  says  truly :  "  Never  has  transition  been  more  admirably 
accomplished  than  that  from  the  Old  Covenant  to  the  New,  for  the 
very  simple  reason  that  the  latter  struck  all  its  roots  down  into  the 
former.  In  the  period  which  innuediately  followed  the  Pentecost,  the 
Primitive  Church  was  not  called  to  break  the  tie  which  bound  it  to  the 
Temple.  It  still  celebrated  the  Levitical  worship.  The  assiduous  at- 
tendance of  the  Apostles  in  the  holy  place  is  very  notable ;  and  they 
scrui)ulously  observe  the  ceremonial  Law,  Avhich,  in  their  view,  still 
stands  in  its  integrity.  .  .  .  They  have  not  yet  comprehended  that  in 
Christ  Jesus  all  national  barriers  are  done  away,  and  that  the  privileges 
and  the  prescriptions  of  Judaism  are  alike  abolished.  They  still  be- 
lieve in  the  necessity  of  circumcision."— ("^a;%  Years  of  Chriatian- 
ity,^^  Apostolic  Era,  pp.  46,  47.) 


> 


222  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

Yet  tliey  remained  in  all  other  things  Jews,  as  they  had 
ever  been.*  The  Temple  and  the  Synagogue,  the  Jewish 
Law  and  the  commandments,  the  daily  public  reading  of 
the  Old  Testament,  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  the  rites  of  circum- 
cison,  and  the  "divers  washings  and  carnal  ordinances," 
were  all  honored  as  before. 

The  Lord  Jesus  had  declared  that  He  "  came  not  to  destroy 
the  Law  and  the  Prophets,  but  to  fulfil  them ; "  and  His 
Apostles  based  their  claim  for  the  Divine  authority  of  the 
new  dispensation,  upon  the  evidence  they  offered  that  "  He 
of  whom  Moses  in  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  did  write," 
had  now  fulfilled  the  law  and  the  prophecy.  They  had  no 
thought  themselves,  for  years,  of  the  establishment  of  a  new 
Church  organization.  Looking  as  they  evidently  did  for 
the  immediate  coming  of  their  Lord,  all  earthly  considera- 
tions were  literally  absorbed  and  swallowed  up  in  the  pres- 
ence of  that  great  event ;  so  that  the  Rich  and  Poor,  at  first, 
"  had  all  things  in  common ;  "  f  and  "  continuing  daily  in  the 

*  "  When  the  majority  of  the  members  of  a  Jewish  community  were 
convinced  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  there  was  nothing  to  interrupt 
the  current  of  their  former  common  hfe.  There  was  no  need  for  seces- 
sion, for  schism,  for  a  change  in  the  organization.  Tlie  old  forms  of 
worship  and  the  old  modes  of  government  could  still  go  on.  .  .  .  The 
reading  of  the  life  of  Christ  and  of  the  letters  of  Apostles  supplemented, 
but  did  not  supersede  the  ancient  lessons  from  the  Prophets,  and  the 
ancient  singing  of  the  Psalms.  The  commvinity  as  a  whole,  was  known 
by  the  same  name  which  had  designated  the  purely  Jewish  commu- 
nity."— {Hatch's  Bampton  Lectures— Organization  of  the  Early  Chris- 
tian Churches,  pp.  60,  61.) 

*  The  same  writer  last  quoted  says :  "  Such  was  the  state  of  society 
■when  those  who  accepted  Christian  teaching  began  to  be  drawn  to- 
gether into  communities.  They  were  so  drawn  together  in  the  first  in- 
stance, no  doubt  by  the  force  of  a  great  spiritual  emotion,  the  sense  of 
sin,  the  belief  in  a  Redeemer,  the  hope  of  the  life  to  come.  But  when 
drawn  together  they  '  had  all  things  common.'    The  world  and  all  that 


THE   GENTILE   CHURCHES.  223 

Apostles'  doctrine  and  fellowship,"  they  gave  up  their  time 
and  thoughts  almost  wholly  to  the  "Word  of  God  and 
prayer."  * 

Their  position  toward  the  Jewish  Church  was  somewhat 
that  of  an  "  imperlum  in  imrperio;^''  recognizing  their  obli- 
gations to  the  larger  organization,  while  acknowledging  a 
still  higher  and  closer  obligation  to  the  new  truths,  which 
had  been  revealed  to  them  as  the  interpretation  and  fuliil- 
ment  of  the  older  revelation. 

They  did  not  at  the  time  even  call  themselves  Christians. 
"Saints,"  "Brethren,"  "Disciples,"  "the  faithful,"  "the 
called,"  "  the  chosen,"  these  were  the  names  by  which  for 
years  they  were  distinguished  among  themselves. f 


was  in  it  was  destined  soon  to  pass  away.  'The  Lord  was  at  hand.' 
In  the  mean  time  they  were  '  members  one  of  another.' " — (^'Organiza- 
tion of  Early  Christian  Churches,''''  page  35.) 

*Neander  thus  describes  their  inchoate  condition:  "The  disciples 
had  not  yet  attained  a  clear  understanding  of  that  call,  which  Christ 
had  already  given  them  by  so  many  intimations,  to  form  a  Church  en- 
tirely separated  from  the  existing  Jewish  economy ;  to  that  economy 
they  adhered  as  much  as  possible.  .  .  .  They  remained  outwardly 
Jews,  although  in  proportion  as  their  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Redeemer 
became  clearer  and  stronger,  they  would  inwardly  cease  to  be  Jews 
and  all  external  rites  would  assume  a  different  relation  to  their  internal 
life.  It  was  their  belief  that  the  existing  religious  forms  would  con- 
tinue till  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  when  a  new  and  higher  order  of 
things  would  be  established;  and  this  great  change  they  expected 
would  sliortly  take  place.  Hence  the  establishment  of  a  distinct  mode 
of  worship  was  far  from  entering  their  thoughts.  Although  new  ideas 
respecting  the  essence  of  true  worship  arose  in  their  minds,  from  the 
light  of  faith  in  the  Redeemer,  they  felt  as  great  an  interest  in  the 
Temi)le  worship  as  any  devout  Jews.— {" History  oftfie  Planting  of  the 
Christian  Church,''  Vol.  1,  p.  28.) 

t  "  The  members  of  the  Christian  Church  are  characteristically  dis- 
tinguished by  the  very  names  they  originally  bore.  Among  them- 
selves they  were  called,  fiaBr/rai,  Tviaroi,  a(^tA(poi.  The  Apostles,  in  their 
Epistles,  usually  designate  the  believers  as  the  '  dyioi  in  Christ,'  the 
EKlEKToi.      Correspondent   herewith   are   the   many   symbolical   names 


224  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

Gradually  however  liglit  dawned  u23on  the  infant  organi- 
zation. It  has  been  well  said  that  "  The  historical  develop- 
ment of  the  Christian  Church  as  a  body  is  similar  to  that 
of  the  Christian  life  in  each  of  its  members.  Many  sej)arate 
rays  of  Divine  light  at  different  times  enter  the  soul,  vari- 
ous influences  of  awakening  ^preparative  grace  are  felt,  be- 
fore the  birth  of  that  new  Divine  life  by  which  the  whole 
character  of  man  is  destined  to  be  taken  possession  of,  per- 
vaded and  transformed.  '  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  list- 
eth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof  but  knowest  not 
whence  it  cometli  nor  whither  it  goeth.'  The  same  may  be 
affirmed  of  the  Church  collectively,  with  this  difference 
however  that  here  the  point  of  commencement  is  more  vis- 
ibly and  decidedly  marked."' 

Thus  in  course  of  time,  we  find  that  all  those  who  ac- 
knowledged that  Jesus  was  the  true  Messiah,  separated 
themselves  from  the  mass  of  the  Jewish  people,  into  a  dis- 
tinct religious  community. 

It  followed  as  a  necessary  consequence  of  this  gradual 
transformation  from  such  diverse  elements,  that  a  wide  lat- 
itude of  opinion  upon  minor  matters  must  i^revail,  and 
great  diversity  both  in  doctrine  and  i^ractice  would  exist 
where  such  discordant  views  were  mingled  in  one  body. 

"  There  were  many  errors,"  says  Neander,  ''  arising  from 
the  prevailing  Jewish  mode  of  thinking,  some  of  which 
were  by  degrees  corrected  in  the  case  of  those  avIio  surren- 
dered themselves  to  the  expansive  and  purifying  influence 

which  were  hkewise  employed  to  designate  the  members  of  Christ's 
body." — {Quericke's  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Churchy  p.  15.) 


THE   GENTILE    CHURCHES.  225 

of  the  Christian  spirit ;  but  in  those  over  whom  that  spirit 
could  not  exert  such  power,  these  errors  formed  the  germ 
of  the  later  Jewish-Christian,  (the  so-called  Ebionitish)  doc- 
trine, which  set  itself  in  direct  hostility  to  the  pure  doc- 
trine." 

NEW    REVELATION   OF    THE    GOSPEL. 

The  time  came  at  length  when,  in  "  the  determinate  coun- 
sel and  fore-knowledge  of  God,"  another  vista  of  His  infinite 
Truth  was  to  be  opened  up  by  a  further  revelation,  (unveil- 
ing), of  it  to  His  disciples  and  to  the  Church. 

"  I  have  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear 
them  now,"  was  the  mysterious  yet  hopeful  legacy  which 
the  Lord  Jesus  had,  long  years  before,  personally  bequeathed 
them.  And  now  He  was  about  to  speak  to  them,  through 
His  Holy  Spirit,  some  of  those  things ;  even  "  words  of  Eter- 
nal Life,"  for  those  who  had  hitherto  been  regarded  as  ex- 
cluded from  the  covenant  mercies  promised  to  the  chosen 
people  of  God.* 

*  "  Though  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus  all  the  truth  might  be  implied,  y 
it  was  not  all  opened;  therefore  the  Holy  Ghost  was  to  add  that  which 
had  not  been  delivered,  as  well  as  to  recall  that  which  had  been  already- 
spoken.  There  is  an  evident  contrast  intended,  with  regard  to  extent 
of  knowledge,  between  '  these  things  which  I  have  spoken  while  yet 
present  with  you,'  and  '  all  things  which  he  shall  teach  you.'  Nay, 
there  is  the  plainest  assertion  which  could  be  made,  that  things  were 
to  be  said  afterward  which  had  not  been  said  then ;  and  those  not  few 
but  many—{^  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you  '—not  of  secon- 
dary importance,  but  of  the  highest  moment.  ('  Ye  cannot  bear  them 
now,'  ov  (VvvaaHe  i^naraCeiv).  They  are  things  of  such  a  kind  as  would 
now  weigh  down  and  oppress  your  minds,  seeing  that  they  surjiass 
your  present  powers  of  spiritual  ai)prehension.  But  these  many  and 
weighty  things  shall  not  be  left  untold  'When  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth 
is  come,  he  sliall  guide  you  into  all  the  truth.'  He  shall  guide  you 
(odriyr/aet),  as  by  successive  steps  and  continuous  direction  (t'f  T^aaai' 
15 


226  HISTOKICAL   ESSAYS. 

According  to  the  best  authorities  it  ai)pears  that  nearly 
seven  years  had  elapsed  since  the  great  out-pouring  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost;  and  although  on  that 
memorable  occasion,  "  the  dwellers  in  Mesopotamia  and 
Asia,  strangers  and  proselytes,  Cretes  and  Arabians,"  heard 
the  glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel  each  in  their  own  tongue, 
and  doubtless  many  of  the  Gentiles  had  accepted  them  from 
that  day,  yet  it  was  always  through  such  ministration  as 
would  necessarily  lead  the  new  converts  to  a  communion  of 
faith  and  practice  with  the  Jewish  Christian  Church. 

All  the  hopes  and  promises  held  out  to  them,  were  to  be 
realized  only  through  their  acceptance  of  the  Divine  author- 
ity of  the  Old  Covenant  dispensation. 

Even  when  the  Ethiopian  Treasurer  had  been  convinced 
through  the  teaching  of  Philip,  or  the  Household  of  Corne- 
lius through  the  words  of  salvation  spoken  by  Peter,  neither 
the  Evangelist,  acting  under  the  immediate  inspiration  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  nor  the  Apostle,  yielding  to  the  direct  and 
wonderful  guidance  of  a  Heavenly  vision,  seem  to  have  as 
yet  comprehended  the  fulness  and  the  liber cy  of  the  truth 
they  proclaimed ;  and  in  each  case  the  form  of  water  baptism, 
imposed  ujDon  all  Jewish  converts,*  was  practised  as  an  ini- 
tiation of  these  believers,  into  the  communionf  of  the  Church. 

TT/v  a/y?fieun'),  into  the  whole  of  that  truth  of  which  the  coiumence- 
inents  have  now  been  given;  and  especially  into  the  highest  and  cen- 
tral part  of  it." — {Bernard's  "Progress  of  Doctrine  in  the  New  Testa- 
me7it,''''  p.  75.) 

*  Dean  Stanley,  Canon  Westcott,  Prof.  Delitzsch,  and  the  most  pro- 
found scholars  and  authorities  of  the  Church,  unite  in  the  testimony 
that  water  baptism  was  a  Jewish  institution,  universally  observed  in 
receiving  proselytes  into  their  communion,  and  so  it  became  engrafted 
on  the  Christian  Church. — T.  K. 

f  In  Neander's  "  History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  we  read;  "  In  the 


V 


THE   GENTILE   CHURCHES.  227 

Not  long  after  the  date  of  this  record  of  Philip,  though 
a  few  years  before  that  of  Peter's  visit  to  Cornelius,  we  hnd 
that  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  had  begun  to  prepare  for 
Himself  a  chosen  instrument,  for  the  proclamation  and  the 
defence  of  His  gospel  in  all  its  spirituality  and  power, — the 
great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles ;  who  should  not  only  be  com- 
missioned to  "  open  their  eyes  and  to  turn  them  from  dark- 
ness to  light  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God,"  but 
also  to  break  forever  the  fetters  which  had  hitherto  bound 
the  Church,  and  to  oj)en  the  eyes  of  its  leaders  to  the  ful- 
ness  and  the  liberty  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.'^  ■:  ^ 

Roman  cohort  which  formed  the  garrison  of  this  place  (Ciesarea  Stra-       ^\ 
tonis),  was  a  centurion,  Cornehus  by  name,  a  Grentile  who,  dissatisfied        ji      ,,      .^ 
with  the  old  popular  religion  and  seeking  after  one  that  would  tran-       ^      aj       > 
quillize  liis  mind,  was  led  by  acquaintance  with  Judaism  to  the  foun-       J^*      «        V 
dation  of  a  living  faith  in  the  one  God.     Having  with  his  Avhole  family  ^^    \>J    ^y\ 
professed  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  he  testified  by  his  benefactions  the     ^^  ^      "^ 
sympathy  he  felt  with  his  fellow- worshippers  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  ^ 

observed  the  hours  of  pi'ayer  customary  to  the  Jews ;  so  that  there  is 
scarcely  any  room  to  doubt  that  he  belonged  to  the  class  of  Proselytes 
of  the  Gate.  .  .  .  The  Proselytes  of  the  Gate  were  certainly  permitted  ^ 
to  attend  the  synagogue  worship,  which  was  a  means  of  gradually 
bringing  them  to  a  full  reception  of  Judaism.  .  .  .  And  now  Peter 
...  in  order  to  nullify  all  the  scruples  of  the  Jews,  respecting  the  bap- 
tism of  such  uncircumcised  persons,  asks,  '  Who  can  forbid  water  that 
these  should  be  baptized,  who  have  already  received  the  baptism  of  the 
Spirit  like  ourselves?'" — {Neander''s  "Planting  of  Christianity^''''  vol. 
1,  pp.  OG,  G7,  68,  76.) 

William  Penn  wisely  points  out  the  distinction  of  authority  between 
the  question  of  the  servant  and  the  command  of  the  Master. — T.  K. 

*  The  "  proclamation  of  the  Gospel  to  the  Ethiopian  proselyte  was 
another  step  in  advance,  and  for  this  '  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  spake  unto 
Philip.'  The  preaching  of  the  word  to  Gentiles  and  their  admission 
into  the  Church  was  a  greater  step,  and  for  this  the  Lord  intervenes 
by  the  mission  of  an  Angel  to  Cornelius,  by  a  vision  and  a  voice  of  the 
Spirit  to  Peter,  and  by  a  kind  of  second  Pentecost  to  the  converts 
themselves.  But,  when  the  greatest  step  of  all  is  to  be  taken  in  the 
outward  course  of  the  Gospel,  then  most  visibly  does  the  great  Head 
of  the  Church  make  manifest  His  personal  administration.  A  new 
Apostle  appears,  .  ,  .  one  standing  apart  and  in  advance,  under  whose 


228  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

A  "  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews;  as  touching  the  law  a  Phari- 
see," earnest  and  scrupulous  in  its  observance,  untiring  and 
unscrupulous  in  its  defence,  persecuting  the  true  Church 
of  Christ — it  needed  such  a  lightning-stroke  as  he  received 
by  the  way-side,  and  three  years  of  solitary  prepara- 
tion in  Arabia,  with  the  visible  glories  of  the  third  heaven 
and  the  direct  appearance  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself,  to 
overthrow  all  the  prejudices  of  his  education  and  of  his  life ; 
but  when  once  accomplished,  the  work  was  thorough  and 
lasting.  Others  might  falter  or  hesitate,  but  his  course  was 
right  onward  from  the  first.     As  Neander  well  says : 

"  For  those  who  gradually  passed  over  to  Christianity  from 
Pharisaic  Judaism,  a  considerable  time  might  elapse  before 
the  spirit  of  Christianity  could  divest  itself  of  the  Pharisaic 
form.  But  it  was  otherwise  with  Paul,  in  whom  Pharisaism 
had  exhibited  the  most  unsparing  opposition  to  the  Gos- 
pel, and  who  without  any  such  gradual  transition  had  been 
seized  at  a  critical  moment  by  the  power  of  the  Gospel  and 
from  being  its  most  violent  enemy  had  become  its  most 
zealous  confessor.  .  .  .  The  bonds  of  Pharisaism  were  in  his 
case  loosened  instantaneously ;  in  his  mind  opposition  against 
Pharisaic  Judaism  took  the  place  of  opposition  against  the 


hand  both  the  doctrines  and  the  destinies  of  the  Gospel  receive  a  de- 
velopment so  extensive  and  so  distinct,  that  it  seemed  almost  another 
Gospel  to  many  who  witnessed  it,  and  to  some  who  study  it  seems  so 
still.  .  .  .  This  man's  conversion,  education,  commission,  direction,  the 
Lord  Jesus  undertakes  Himself.  Suddenly  He  meets  him  in  the  way, 
shines  forth  upon  him  in  a  light  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun,  speaks 
to  him  by  a  voice  from  heaven,  calls  him  by  name,  convinces,  adopts, 
directs  him,  commands  Ananias  concerning  him,  and  (apparently  on 
repeated  occasions)  announces  the  use  which  He  has  decreed  to  make 
of  '  the  chosen  vessel.'  ''—{Bernard's  Progress  of  Doctrine,  pp.  83,  84.) 


THE   GENTILE   CHUECIIES.  229 

Gospel.  As  he  says  of  himself  {PMUp.  iii.  8),  "  for  Christ's 
sake  he  had  suffered  the  loss  of  all  those  things  which  he 
once  prized,  and  all  that  once  appeared  to  him  so  splendid 
'he  counted  but  as  dung  that  he  might  win  Christ.'" — 
{Planting  of  Christianity^^ — Pages  96,  97.) 

THE  APOSTLE    PAUL's    FAITHFULNESS. 

Accepting  the  date  of  the  Apostle  Paul's  conversion  to 
have  been  about  a.d.  36  to  37,  {Speakefs  Commentary^  Acts, 
p.  314),  and  allowing  for  his  three  years'  voluntary  exile  in 
Arabia,  we  find  that  in  a.d.  40  he  went  uj)  to  Jerusalem, 
and  after  some  hesitation  was  received  by  the  Apostles  on 
the  commendation  of  Barnabas.  There  escaping  as  at  Dam- 
ascus from  the  machinations  of  the  Jews,  he  appears  to  have 
entered  on  a  service  of  three  years'  duration  in  Syria  and 
Cilicia ;  after  which  he  returned  to  Tarsus.  From  thence  he 
was  called  by  Barnabas  to  the  commencement  at  Antioch  of 
his  great  life-work  as  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles:  (a.d.  43). 

Going  forth  together,  they  found  that  the  field  had  been 
already  prepared  for  their  service  and  that  the  seed  of  the 
word  had  been  sown,  by  the  Jewish  Christians  scattered 
abroad  at  the  persecution  that  arose  after  the  martyrdom  of 
Stephen. 

Those  exiles,  although  at  first  preaching  the  Gospel  "  to 
none  but  unto  the  Jews  only,"  had  been  gradually  led  to 
proclaim  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ  "  to  the  Gentiles 
also,"  "  and  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them  and  a  great 
number  believed  and  turned  unto  the  Lord  "  {Acts,  xi.  19- 
26.) 


{ 


230  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

At  Antioch  Paul  and  Barnabas  labored  for  a  whole  year 
together,  "  assembling  with  the  Church  and  teaching  much 
peox)le." 

"And  the  Disciples,"  we  read,  "  were  called  Christians  first 
in  Antioch."  * 

"  This  event,"  writes  Canon  Cook,  "  marked  decisively  the 
separation  from  Judaism.  Here  the  mother  Church  of  Gen- 
tile Christendom  takes  the  place  of  Jerusalem." — {Speaker's 
Commentary^  Acts,  p.  437.) 

These  new  converts  at  Antioch  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  baptized  with  water,  nor  circumcised,  nor  subjected 
to  any  of  the  ordinances  of  the  Mosaic  Law ;  which  irregu- 
larity excited  great  commotion  in  the  Jewish  Churches. 

And  now  comes  the  memorable  period  (about  a.d.  50)  of 
the  second  visit  of  the  AjDostles  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  Jeru- 
salem ;  where  they  had  been  five  or  six  years  bef ore,t  sim- 

*  Archdeacon  Farrar  here  notes :  "Antioch  was  evidently  destined  to 
ecHpse  the  importance  of  the  Holy  City  as  a  centre  and  stronghold  of 
the  faith.  In  the  Church  of  Jerusalem  there  were  many  sources  of 
weakness  which  were  wanting  at  Antioch.  It  was  hampered  by  de- 
pressing poverty.  It  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  earliest  persecutions. 
Its  lot  was  cast  in  the  very  furnace  of  Jewish  hatred ;  and  yet  the  views 
of  its  most  influential  elders  were  so  much  identified  with  their  old 
Judaic  training,  that  they  would  naturally  feel  less  interest  in  any  at- 
tempt to  proselytize  the  Gentiles. 

"At  Antioch  all  was  different.  There  the  prejudices  of  the  Jews  wore 
an  aspect  more  extravagant,  and  the  claims  of  the  Gentiles  assumed  a 
more  overwhelming  importance.  At  Jerusalem  the  Christians  had 
been  at  the  mercy  of  a  petty  Jewish  despot.  At  Antioch  the  Jews  were 
forced  to  meet  the  Christians  on  terms  of  a  perfect  equality,  under  the 
impartial  rule  of  Roman  law.  .  .  . 

"  No  place  could  have  been  more  suitable  than  Antioch  for  the  initial 
stage  of  such  a  ministry.  The  queen  of  the  East,  the  third  metropolis 
of  the  world,  the  residence  of  the  imperial  Legate  of  Syria,  a  vast  city 
of  perhaps  500,000  souls.  .  .  :'— {Farrar'' s  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul, 
pp.  181,  182,  162.) 

f  This  intermediate  visit  is  not  alluded  to  by  the  Apostle  in  his  Epis- 


THE  GENTILE   CHURCHES.  231 

ply  to  carry  the  proceeds  of  some  collections  tliey  had  made 
for  the  relief  of  their  suffering  brethren  in  that  city.  The 
purport  of  their  present  mission  was  an  appeal  to  the  con- 
vocation of  Elders,  as  well  as  to  the  Church  at  large  in  that 
city,  on  behalf  of  the  entire  liberty  from  Jewish  ritual  and 
tradition,  of  these  Gentile  converts ;  as  well  as  for  the  in- 
dorsement of  their  own  Apostolic  authority  which  the  op- 
posers  called  in  question. 

It  is  evident  that  in  those  years  of  practical  service  among 
the  Gentiles,  the  Apostle  had  learned  much  that  was  novel 
and  astounding  to  one  Avho  had  been  brought  up  at  the  feet 
of  Gamaliel  and  thoroughly  indoctrinated  in  the  strictest 
tenets  of  the  Pharisees.  Yet  having  personally  seen  the 
Lord  Jesus  and,  in  humble  and  full  surrender  of  all  his  old 
prejudices,  having  honestly  put  to  Him  the  question, "  Lord 
what  wouldst  tliou  have  me  to  do,"  he  was  prepared  to  fol- 
low unquestioningly  whithersoever  his  Master  might  be 
pleased  to  lead  him ;  willing  to  learn  any  lessons,  however 
startling,  and  to  accept  any  truths,  however  mysterious, 
that  such  implicit  obedience  might  involve,  and  which  the 
Lord  from  time  to  time  might  see  fit  to  unfold  to  him. 

He  had  witnessed  on  the  one  hand  the  hard-hearted  re-       \ 
jection  of  the  gospel  message  by  the  Jews  and  especially  by 
the  Pharisees,  who  seemed  always  to  "  resist  the  Holy  Spirit," 
and  on  the  other  hand  he  had  seen  how  thousands   and 
tens  of  thousands  of  the   despised  heathen  around  them, 

tie  to  the  Galatians,  because  it  had  no  reference  to  doctrinal  questions ; 
and  he  passes  over  the  interval  of  fourteen  years  that  had  elapsed  since 
his  first  visit  to  Jerusalem,  soon  after  his  conversion,  to  the  date  of  this 
conference  with  the  Apostles. — {Galatians  ii.  1.) 


232  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

gladly  welcomed  the  good  news  of  salvation  tlirongli  Jesus 
Christ. 

He  had  seen  how  the  Lord  had  set  His  seal  of  approval 
on  the  work,  by  granting  to  the  Gentile  converts  the  peace 
and  joy  of  His  redeemed  children,  baj)tizing  them  with  His 
Holy  Spirit  and  purifying  their  hearts  by  faith. 

Have  not  many  Christian  workers  since  that  day  wit- 
nessed. In  their  measure,  the  same  w^onderful  truths;  that 
the  cold  and  self-righteous  professor,  claiming  it  may  be  a 
high  spiritual  standpoint  and  exi)erience,  "  having  no  need 
of  a  Physician,"  may  turn  aside  contemj^tuously  from  sea- 
sons of  si^ecial  visitation,  which  if  closed  in  with  might  have 
proved  of  eternal  blessing  to  his  soul,  and  so  have  missed 
forever  the  great  salvation ;  while  the  poor  and  the  outcast, 
the  publican  and  the  sinner,  the  leper  and  the  blind  man, 
hearing  that  "  Jesus  of  IS'azareth  was  passing  by,"  have  re- 
ceived the  news  gladly,  and 

Just  as  they  were,  and  waiting  not 
To  rid  their  souls  of  one  dark  blot, 

have  cast  themselves  at  His  feet  and  have  known  His  heal- 
ing, life-giving  touch.  His  sweet  forgiving  words  of  peace 
and  blessing,  to  change  in  a  moment  the  whole  current  of 
their  lives,  and  to  awaken  in  their  souls  a  sure  and  glorious 
hope  of  life  everlasting. 

With  these  confirmed  convictions,  the  Apostles  Paul  and 
Barnabas  went  up  to  Jerusalem  *  to  lay  before  the  Elders 

*  Pressens^  thus  describes  the  circumstances  of  this  visit :  "  The 
Christian  Church  had  reached  a  critical  moment.  Important  questions 
had  arisen  which  clamored  for  solution.  It  must  be  decided  if  a  Juda- 
izing  Christianity  or  a  Christianity  of  broader  principles  was  to  govern 


THE   GENTILE   CHURCHES.  233 

and  the  Church,  the  position  of  their  Gentile  brethren  wliom 
the  Lord  liad  so  conspicuously  owned  and  blessed,  but 
whom  the  Pharisees  jDersisted  in  disowning  and  persecut- 
ing. 

It  is  needless  to  go  over  the  remarkable  interviews,  first 
with  the  Elders  and  then  with  the  Church  at  large,  that  oc- 
curred during  this  visit.  They  are  fully  described  in  Acts, 
XV.  1-35,  and  Galaticms,  ii.  1-10.  Their  result  was  a  par- 
tial and  yet  a  great  concession  of  liberty  to  the  Gentile 
churches.* 

the  Churches  gathered  from  ainon<^  tlie  heathen.  .  .  .  Men  of  narrow 
soul,  taking  advantage  of  the  respect  and  affection  shown  by  the  Chris- 
tians to  Judaism,  sought  to  transfuse  into  the  new  rehgion  the  pride 
and  prejudices  of  the  Jews  of  the  dechne.  .  .  .  Paul  does  not  hesitate 
to  call  them  false  brethren.  (Acts,  xv.  1 ;  Gal.  ii.  4.)  Some  of  them  went 
privily  to  Antioch,  to  spy  out  the  conduct  of  their  great  adversary,  to 
oppose  his  views  and  to  arrest,  if  it  might  be  so,  the  liberty  of  practice 
introduced  into  the  churches  formed  under  his  influence.  They  at- 
tacked at  once  the  person  and  the  principles  of  the  Apostle,  question- 
ing his  authority,  and  obstinately  maintaining  the  permanent  obliga- 
tion of  circumcision.  {Acts,  xv.  1.)  .  .  ." — Early  Years  of  Christiaitity 
—Apostolic  Era,  pp.  125,  127,  130.) 

*  Of  the  partial  result  of  this  Conference  Neander  says :  "Although 
these  injunctions  had  a  precise  object,  and  doubtless  attained  it  in  some 
measure,  yet  we  cannot  conclude  with  certainty,  that  James  had  a  clear 
perception  of  it  in  all  its  extent,  when  he  proposed  this  middle  way. 
As  the  persons  who  composed  this  assembly  acted  not  merely  according 
to  the  suggestions  of  human  prudence,  but  chiefly  as  the  organs  of  a 
higher  spirit  that  animated  them,  of  a  higher  wisdom  that  guided 
them,  it  would  follow  that  their  injunctions  served  for  certain  ends  in 
the  guidance  of  the  Church  which  were  not  perfectly  clear  to  their  own 
apprehension.  .  .  .  Possibly  James,  without  any  distinct  views  and 
aims,  only  believed  that  something  must  be  done  for  the  Gentile  Chris- 
tians (who  were  to  be  acknowledged  as  members  of  God's  kingdom, 
with  equal  privileges,  in  virtue  of  their  faith  in  "Jehovah  and  the  Mes- 
siah) to  bring  them  nearer  as  it  regarded  their  outward  mode  of  life, 
like  the  Proselytes  of  the  Gate,  to  Judaism  and  the  Jews.  .  .  .  The  Acts 
of  the  Apostles  might  lead  us  to  suppose,  if  we  could  not  compare  its 
statements  with  the  Pauline  Epistles,  that  the  division  between  the 
Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians  had  been  completely  healed  by  the  de- 
cision of  the  Apostolic  assembly;  but  we  know  that  the  reaction  of  the 


234  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

"  It  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Spirit  and  to  us  to  ]ay  upon 
you  no  greater  burden  than  these  necessary  things:  that  ye 
abstain  from  things  sacrificed  to  idols  and  from  blood  and 
from  things  strangled  and  from  fornication :  from  which  if 
you  keej)  yourselves  ye  shall  do  well "  {Acts,  xv.  25, 29,  R.  V.). 

This  message,  we  read,  the  disciples  at  Antioch  received 
with  great  joy ;  and  Paul  and  Barnabas  tarried  in  that  city, 
"  teaching  and  j)reaching  the  word  of  the  Lord  with  many 
others  also." 

The  Apostle  Paul  undoubtedly  returned  from  Jerusalem 
intending  in  good  faith  to  follow  out  the  instructions  of  the 
Conference  and  to  adhere  strictly  to  the  limitations  pre- 
scribed on  its  behalf  by  the  presiding  Elder  of  the  Church, 
the  Ax)Ostle  James  wdioni  he  styles  "  the  Lord's  brother." 

Accordingly  we  find  that  for  a  season  he  proclaimed  the 
necessity,  on  the  part  of  all  these  Gentile  converts,  of  a)^- 
staining  from  the  remains  of  "  meats  ofl'ered  to  idols,  from 
things  strangled  and  from  blood;"  classing  these  forbidden 
practices  with  the  great  sin  of  unchastity,  in  his  earlier 
teachings  after  that  date. 

Gradually,  however,  a  clearer  light  dawned  u^^on  him  and 
a  fuller  revelation  of  the  Truth  set  him  free  from  the  last 
trammels  of  Jewish  tradition.  So  that  in  his  later  Ei:»istles 
he  proclaimed  a  declaration  of  independence  from  them  all, 
for  those  who  had  come  into  the  liberty  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ. 


Judaizing  party  against  the  freedom  of  the  Gentile  Christians'  Church, 
very  soon  broke  out  afresh  and  that  Paul  had  constantly  to  combat 
with  it." — (Planting  of  Christianity,  pp.  121,  127.) 


THE   GENTILE   CHURCHES.  235 

For  it   had  been    showed   him    that :      "  The    kingdom  \ 

of  God  is  not  eating  and  drinking,  (meat  and  drink),  but 
righteounsess  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  (See 
Romans,  xiv.  6-17,  R.  Y.)  ''  Whatsoever  is  sokl  in  tlie 
shambles  eat,  asking  no  question  for  conscience'  sake ; " 
said  he  boldly  to  the  Corinthians  (1  CorlntJilans,  x.  2o, 
R.  Y.).  "  Let  no  man  therefore  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in 
drink,  or  in  respect  of  a  feast  day  or  a  new  moon  or  a  Sab- 
bath day:  Avhicli  are  a  shadow  of  the  things  to  come,  but 
the  body  is  Christ's.  ...  If  ye  died  with  Christ  from  the 
rudiments  of  the  world,  why,  as  though  living  in  the  world, 
do  ye  subject  yourselves  to  ordinances ; — '  Handle  not,  nor 
taste,  nor  touch '  (all  which  things  are  to  perish  with  the 
using),  after  the  precepts  and  doctrines  of  men? "  *  {Colos- 
sians,  ii.  16, 17,  20-22,  R.  Y.). 

*  This  passage  has  been  misunderstood  and  often  quoted  errone-  ^ 

ously  as  appHcable  to  the  so-called  "  ordinances "  of  Water-Baptism 
and  the  outward  Supper  —  to  which  it  has  no  relation.  The  Greek 
word  (6oy/iaTil^£crT6e)  used  here,  signifies  "submit  to  decrees;"  and  the 
"handle  not,  taste  not,  touch  not,"  are  some  of  these  arbitrary  in- 
jvinetions  against  which  the  Apostle  warned  them;  and  not  at  all  his 
words  of  warning  to  them,  as  many  have  supposed.  This  misapprehen- 
sion has  really  injured  the  cause  honestly  intended  to  be  advanced,  since 
the  easy  exposure  of  such  an  error  has  weakened  the  general  force  of 
any  argument  against  ritualistic  practices. 

Conybeare  thus  translates  the  passage  -.  "  If  then  when  you  died 
with  Christ,  you  put  away  the  childish  lessons  of  outward  things;  why, 
as  though  you  still  lived  in  outward  things,  do  you  submit  yourselves 
to  decrees  ("  hold  not,  taste  not,  touch  not " — forbidding  the  use  of 
things  which  are  all  made  to  be  consumed  in  the  using)  founded  on  the 
2)recepts  and  doctrines  of  men." — {Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  411.) 

Archdeacon  Farrar  renders  it  "  If  ye  died  with  Christ  from  mun- 
dane rudiments,  why,  as  though  living  in  the  world,  are  ye  ordinance- 
ridden  with  such  rules  as  '  Do  not  handle,' '  Do  not  taste,' '  Do  not  even 
touch.'  referring  to  things  all  of  which  are  perishable  in  the  mere  con- 
sumption, according  to '  the  commandments  and  teachings  of  men.'    All 


v 


236  HISTORICAL   ESS  ATS. 

The  realization  of  this  entire  liberty  in  the  Gospel,  marked 
a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  Gentile  Chnrches. 
?C  "  From  that  hour,"  says  Augustine,  "  what  Christian  would 

observe  an  injunction  not  to  touch  a  thrush  or  a  morsel  of 
a  little  bird  unless  its  blood  had  been  shed,  or  not  to  eat  a 
hare  if  it  had  been  killed  by  a  blow  of  the  hand  on  the  neck, 
no  blood  flowing." 

GOSPEL   LIBERTY. 

"  For  I  determined  not  to  know  anything  among  you,  save 
Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified  "  (1  Cor.  ii.  2,  E.  V.). 

We  have  thus  rapidly  traced,  in  outline,  the  progress  of 
that  memorable  transition  from  the  ceremonial  bondage  of 
the  Jewish  Law  to  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ:  which  the  Holy  Spirit  gradually  but  surely  effected, 
not  only  in  the  mind  of  the  great  Apostle  but  in  the  life  and 
practice  of  the  Christian  Church, 

From  thence  forward,  for  nearly  a  century,  its  career  was 
largely  in  Jiarmony  with  the  earnest  injunction  which  he 
pressed,  in  varied  language,  upon  all  the  Gentile  Churches, 
"  to  stand  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  had  made  them 
free  "  and  not  "  to  be  entangled  again  in  any  yoke  of  bond- 
age." 

There  w^ere,  it  is  true,  many  fluctuations  in  that  progress, 
and  numerous  errors  of  doctrine  and  practice  were  continu- 
ally creeping  in,  requiring  vigorous  effort  to  remove  them. 

these  kinds  of  rules  have  a  credit  of  wisdom  in  volunteered  supereroga- 
tion and  abasement— hard  usage  of  the  body— but  have  no  sort  of  value 
as  a  remedy  as  regards  the  indulgence  of  the  flesh."— (i?ye  and  Work 
of  St.  Paul,^.  619.) 


THE   GENTILE   CHURCHES.  237 

But  a  jealous  guard  was  maintained  tlirough  all,  against 
Jewish  innovations  both  with  reference  to  the  Sabbath  day 
and  to  the  festivals  of  the  old  church,  and  all  the  various 
rites  and  ceremonies  prescribed  in  the  Mosaic  Law,  ex- 
tending even  to  the  details  of  Church  government. 

A  generation  had  hardly  passed  over,  after  this  period, 
when  the  tremendous  judgment  foretold  by  the  Lord  Jesus, 
fell  upon  Jerusalem,  destroying  and  scattering  the  Jewish 
tribes  and  leaving  the  Gentile  Churches  in  comparative  ease 
from  their  attacks  and  largely  in  possession  of  the  field. 


GOSPEL  MESSAGES. 

It  needed  not  merely  this  negative  testimony  of  the 
Apostle,  in  order  to  establish  the  congregations  which  he 
had  gathered.  It  was  not  only  the  vigor  with  which  he  at- 
tacked error,  but  the  power  in  which  he  proclaimed  the 
Truth,  that  reached  and  satisfied  the  hearts  of  his  hearers. 
It  was  not  a  bare  triumph  over  the  fallen  idols  of  the  past, 
but  a  knowledge  of  the  One  True  God  whom  he  declared  to 
them,  that  proved  to  be  the  life  of  the  Church. 

The  people  were  everywhere  hungry  and  w^anted  to  be  fed, 
thirsty  and  needed  to  be  refreshed,  weary  and  heavy-laden 
and  longing  for  rest  and  peace.  Oppressed  by  a  sense  of  the 
wickedness  and  sin  by  which  they  were  surrounded  and  in 
which  they  had  themselves  lived,  they  were  ready  to  wel- 
come any  one  who  could  speak  to  them  availingly  of  a  hope 
of  salvation,  from  its  power  and  its  condemnation. 


238  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

What  then  were  the  especial  glad  tidings  which  the  Apos- 
tle Paul  was  commissioned  to  proclaim  to  the  Gentiles? 
What  was  the  secret  of  his  marvellous  success  in  declaring 
a  deliverance  at  once  from  the  traditional  bondage  of  the 
Jewish  hierarchy,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  from 
the  corruptions  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  mythology,  ^^'hich 
held  enslaved  all  classes  of  society  among  the  Heathen  na- 
tions around  them?  What  talisman  could  he  hold  up  to 
counteract  the  infliience  of  a  hereditary  pride  of  opinion,  or 
the  charms  of  a  sensuous  and  universally  prevailing  super- 
stition? What  power  could  a  poor  despised  renegade  Jew 
hope  to  exert  against  the  prestige  of  the  mighty  Eoman 
Empire  at  the  height  of  its  glory? 

He  teUs  us  what  it  was :  The  "  Word  of  the  Cross"  (S.  C,  the 
h'r^>i  or — "  argument  of  the  Cross"),  the  "  Gospel  of  Christ," — 
which  he  declared  to  be  not  only  the  "  power  of  God,"  but 
the  "  wisdom  of  God."  And  he  beautifully  adds  that  none 
of  the  rulers  of  this  world  knew  that  wisdom,  "  for  if  they 
had  known  it,  they  would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of 
Glory."  They  would  never  have  given  to  the  great  Apos- 
tle, and  to  every  Ambassador  of  Christ  from  that  day  to 
our  own,  the  wonderful  story  of  the  dying  love  of  our  Re- 
deemer, and  of  His  sufferings  and  death  for  our  sakes.  That 
love,  which  will  break  the  hard  heart  if  anything  can  break 
it,  would  have  been  all  untold  if  the  rulers  of  this  Avorld 
had  not,  in  their  ignorance  of  God's  wisdom  "  crucified  the 
Lord  of  Glory." 

It  was  this  proclamation  that  aroused  the  people  like 
the  bugle  of  a  herald  sounding  forth  a  message  of  peace — 


THE   GENTILE   CHURCHES.  239 

crying  out  (which  the  word  xripbaaih  to  preach,  signifies),  the 
glad  tidings  that  "  God  had  reconciled  the  world  unto  Him- 
self by  the  death  of  His  Son,"  and  that  His  ambassador  was 
now  commissioned,  on  His  behalf  to  "  beseech  the  world  to 
be  reconciled  to  God."  For  "  Him  who  knew  no  sin  He  made 
to  be  sin  on  our  behalf;  that  we  might  become  the  right- 
eousness of  God  in  Him  "  (2  Cor.  v.  19,  20,  21,  R.  V.). 

That  the  Lord  Jesus  had  "  blotted  out  the  bond  written 
in  ordinances  that  was  against  us,  which  was  contrary  to  us : 
and  He  hath  taken  it  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it  to  the  cross  " 
{Colosslans,  ii.  14,  R.  Y. ;  see  also  Eph.  ii.  15, 16).* 

It  was  this  "  Word  of  the  Cross,"  "  to  the  Jews  a  stum- 
bling block,  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness,"  which  the  Apos- 
tle proclaimed,  in  the  place  of  the  traditions  of  men,  that 


*  These  passages  are  also  often  misquoted  as  applying  to  the  so-        v 
called  ordinances  of  water-baptism  and  the  outward  Supper,  with 
which  they  have  nothing  to  do. 

The  Greek  word  dmaiujia-a  used  in  Hebrews,  ix.  1  and  10,  and  ren- 
dered "ordinances,"  is  only  so  used  on  one  other  occasion  in  the  New 
Testament,  Luke,  i.  6;  in  each  of  which  places  it  has  reference  to  the 
ritual  observance  of  the  law. 

In  the  passages  in  Colossians  and  Ephesians  above  referred  to,  an 
entirely  different  Greek  word  is  used  {^oyim)  signifying  a  decree  or  judg- 
ment. Its  accidental  rendering  in  our  English  translation  by  the  word 
"  ordinances  "  has  led  to  this  error.  As  in  the  case  already  alluded  to  . 
("  Touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not,"),  the  mistake  has  done  great  harm 
to  the  real  Scriptural  argument  in  favor  of  the  simplicity  and  spiritu- 
ality of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

The  beautiful  figure  the  Apostle  here  makes  use  of,  is  drawn  from 
the  Jewish  practice  of  cancelling  and  nailing  up  in  a  conspicuous  place 
the  discharged  bond  of  the  debtor  when  it  was  fully  paid.  It  was  a 
public  notice  that  justice  was  satisfied  and  the  man  was  free.  It  is  this 
great  thing  that  the  Lord  Jesus  has  done  for  us  who  believe  in  Him. 
The  decree  of  the  Law  inexorably  was :  "  The  soul  that  sinneth  it  shall 
die."  Our  blessed  Saviour's  death  on  the  cross  paid  that  penalty,  and 
we  are  free. — T.  K. 


7^ 


240  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

satisfied  the  soul  and  ediiied  and  multiplied  the  Church; 
and  which  alone  has  done  so  ever  since  that  day. 

It  was  this  tried  and  precious  corner  stone,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  which  the  builders  rejected 
and  set  at  naught,  "  the  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  with- 
out hands,"  which,  as  the  prophet  Daniel  foretold,  "  should 
break  in  pieces  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth,"  that  finally 
overthrew  the  mightiest  Empire  the  world  had  ever  seen; 
and  which  is  destined  to  prevail  from  sea  to  sea  and  from 
the  rivers  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

THE   FULNESS   OF    THE   BLESSING   OF   THE   GOSPEL   OF 

CHRIST. 

In  conclusion  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Apostle 
preached  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  not  only 
as  the  beginning,  but  as  the  end  of  the  believer's  faith ;  the 
Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last. 

He  declared  Christ  to  be  not  only  the  power  and  the  wis- 
dom and  the  righteousness  of  God,  but  His  provision  for 
our  sanctification  and  complete  redemption.  He  told  the 
Romans  that  "  there  was  no  condemnation  to  them  that  were 
in  Christ  Jesus  "  {Romans,  viii.  1) ;  he  testified  to  the  Corin- 
thians that  "If  any  man  is  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature: 
old  things  are  i)assed  away;  behold,  all  things  are  become 
new,  and  all  things  of  God  "  (2  Cor.  v.  17). 

He  taught  them  that  it  was  the  "  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life 
in  Christ  Jesus  that  made  them  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
death ; "  and  that  being  crucified  with  Christ,  accounting 
themselves  "  to  have  died  with  Him,"  their  life  was  thence- 


THE   GENTILE   CHURCHES.  241 

forward  hid  with  Him  in  God ;  "  *  and  that  having  "  risen 
with  Ilim"  they  Avere  to  "set  their  affections  on  things 
above,  not  on  things  of  the  earth." 

He  draws  the  supreme  motive  and  obligation  of  the  re- 
deemed chikl  of  God  to  lead  such  a  life  of  entire  consecra- 
tion, from  the  fact  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  "  died 
for  all,  that  they  who  live  should  not  henceforth  live  unto 
themselves,  but  unto  Him  who  died  for  them  and  rose  again." 

He  comforts  the  sorrowing  believer  in  the  loss  of  his  dear- 
est earthlv  friend,  with  the  sweet  assurance  that  "  because 
Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  them  also  that  fall  asleej)  in 
Jesus,  the  Lord  will  bring  with  Him,"  and  they  may  have  a 
blessed  hope  of  meeting  again. 

This  was  the  "  Word  of  the  Cross "  of  Christ  in  which 
alone  the  great  Apostle  gloried,  and  the  faithful  preaching 
of  which  had  wrought  such  marvelous  results. 

Thomas  Kimber. 
Richmond  Hill,  L.  I.,  1889. 

*  "  The  Churches  are  '  in  Christ; '  the  persons  are  '  in  Christ.'  They 
are  '  found  in  Christ '  and  '  preserved  in  Christ.'  They  are  '  saved '  and 
'sanctified  in  Christ;'  are  'rooted,  built  uj),'  and  'made  perfect  in 
Christ.'  Their  ways  are  '  ways  that  be  in  Chi'ist ; '  their  conversation  is 
'  a  good  conversation '  in  Christ ;  their  faith,  hope,  love,  joy,  their  wliole 
life,  is  'in  Christ.'  Tliey  think,  they  speak,  they  walk  '  in  Christ.' 
They  labor  and  suffer,  they  sorrow  and  rejoice,  they  conquer  and  tri- 
umph '  in  the  Lord.'  .  .  . 

"  Finally  this  character  of  existence  is  not  changed  by  that  which 
changes  all  besides.  Those  who  have  entered  on  it  depart,  but  they 
'  die  in  the  Lord,'  they  "  sleep  in  Jesus,  they  are  '  the  dead  in  Christ; ' 
and 'when  He  shall  appear,'  they  will  appear;  and  when  He  comes, 
'  God  shall  bring  them  with  Him,'  and  tliey  shall "  reign  in  life,  by  one 
—Jesus  Christ."— jRe7-»a;-cZ's  Progress  of  Doctrine,  pp.  163,  104. 

16 


ADDENDA. 


EXTRACTS  FROM 

THE  HEAVENLY  SIDE  OF  THE  MINISTRY." 


The  annals  of  the  Church  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  con- 
tain we  believe  no  record  of  the  acceptable  ministry  of  His 
Gospel,  when  undertaken  from  any  motives  of  self-interest 
or  worldly  advantage. 

They  do  contain  the  records  of  a  long  roll  of  His  faithful 
soldiers  and  servants,  "  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy," 
who  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things  for  His  dear  name's  sake. 

They  tell  of  the  persecution  and  imprisonment  and  igno- 
minious death  of  many  thousands  of  the  Confessors  of  the 
early  Church ;  who  counted  not  their  lives  dear  unto  them- 
selves that  they  might  finish  their  course  with  joy,  and  the 
ministry  which  they  had  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  tes- 
tify the  glad  tidings  of  the  grace  of  God. 

They  recount,  in  more  modern  times,  the  devotion  of  the 
German  and  English  Reformers ;  the  glorious  story  of  Wil- 
liam Tyndale,  for  example,  who  gladly  accepted  exile  and  a 
hery  death,  freely  giving  up  his  life  as  he  had  professed  his 


244  HISTORICAL    ESSAYS. 

willingness  to  do,  "  that  lie  might  give  the  English  Bible  to 
his  native  land." 

They  tell  of  the  noble  sacrifices  of  the  JSTonconformists  of 
England  and  Scotland ;  of  holy  Rutherford,  whose  sonl  all 
aflame  with  his  Saviour's  love,  rejoiced  for  His  sake  in  im- 
prisonment and  even  in  separation  from  his  belo-ved  flock 
to  whom  for  years  he  had  preached  the  truth  in  its  purity 
and  power.  They  tell  of  Richard  Baxter,  Archbishop 
Leighton,  William  Dell  and  many  others,  who  relinquished 
high  positions  of  profit  and  honor,  that  they  might  main- 
tain their  fidelity  to  that  "  truth  so  pure  of  old." 

They  recount  the  long  years  that  Bunyan  spent  in  Bed- 
ford Jail  because  of  his  faithful  adherence,  in  an  ungodly 
age,  to  those  sublime  realities  so  vividly  portrayed  in  Ilis 
w^onderful  dream  of  the  "Pilgrim's  Progress;"  the  clear 
visions  of  the  City  of  Destruction,  of  Vanity  Fair,  of  the 
Interpreter's  House,  and  of  the  Celestial  City  with  its  heav- 
enly light  falling  back  over  the  land  of  Beulali  at  the  end 
of  the  Christian's  journey. 

They  tell  of  the  patient  endurance  of  the  early  Friends — 
of  Fox  and  Pennington,  and  Edward  Burrough  and  William 
Dewsbury  and  hundreds  of  others,  many  of  whom  lan- 
guished and  some  died  in  loathsome  prisons  for  their  faith- 
ful testimony  to  their  Lord's  simple  truth. 

They  make  honorable  mention  of  the  labors  and  jirivations 
of  the  early  Methodists  in  England  and  America,  while 
spreading  abroad  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  more  than 
a  century  ago. 

They  tell  us  of  the  worthies  of  the  Old  Testament  history. 


ADDENDA.  245 

who  bore  witness  to  the  same  truth  long  ago ;  that  the  Lord's 
devoted  followers  must  be  "  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the 
earth,"  "  manifesting  to  all  that  they  seek  a  city  that  hath 
foundations,"  and  looking  forward  to  the  "eternal  recom- 
pense of  their  reward." 

CUE   CHOICE. 

"  The  world  is  all  before  us  where  to  choose."  We  read 
that  "  there  are  many  kinds  of  voices  in  it,"  and  "  no  one  of 
them  is  without  signification."  Some  allure  to  worldly 
ease  and  pleasure,  some  promise  earthly  honor  and  advance- 
ment, soTue  hold  out  a  brilliant  prospect  of  the  riches  and 
glory  of  this  life.  The  "  god  of  this  world,"  says  to  the  serv- 
ant, as  he  said  to  his  Master,  "All  these  things  will  I  give 
thee  if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship  me." 

On  the  other  hand,  a  low,  sweet  voice  is  heard,  whisper- 
ing to  the  heart : 

"  If  anv  man  serve  me  let  him  follow  me;  and  where  I  am 
there  shall  also  my  servant  be.  If  any  man  serve  me,  him 
will  my  Father  honor"  {John,  xii.  26). 

"  If  any  man  would  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself 
[renounce  himself  literally],  take  up  his  cross  and  follow 
me.  For  whosoever  would  save  his  life  shall  lose  it,  and 
whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  mv  sake  shall  find  it." 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  you  there  is  no  man  that  hath  left 
house,  or  wife,  or  brethren,  or  parents,  or  children,  or  lands, 
for  my  sake  and  for  the  Gospel's  sake,  but  he  shall  receive 
manifold  more  in  this  time,  and  in  the  world  to  come  eter- 
nal life  "  (J/ar/t  and  Lu/ce,  R.  V.). 


246  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

It  is  "  the  world  to  come  of  which  we  speak,^''  said  the 
Apostle;  and  lie  must  himself  have  first  "  tasted  of  the  good 
word  of  God  and  of  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,"  who 
can  availingly  proclaim  them.  And  when  he  shall  have 
known  them  not  only  to  have  overshadowed,  but  to  have 
swallowed  up,  in  his  view,  all  the  fleeting  attractions  and 
glory  of  this  perishing  world,  he  will  count  these  as  "  less 
than  nothing  and  vanity,"  compared  with  the  glory  of  this 
great  grace  given  to  him,  that  he  should  be  called  to  "  preach 
unto  the  nations  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ." 

The  X)riestliood  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  and  of  His  fol- 
lowers is  "  made,  not  after  the  law  of  a  carnal  commandment, 
but  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life."  The  warnings  and 
the  invitations  of  Christ's  Gospel,  the  jDromises  and  judg- 
ments of  the  Lord,  the  -mysteries  and  the  revelations  of 
God's  purposes  and  rewards,  all  centre  in  the  eternities,  and 
are  anchored  "  within  the  veil." 

Must  wife  and  children  then  suffer,  when  any  one  is 
called  to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  and  may  the  Church 
go  free  from  all  responsibility  or  charge?  Most  assuredly 
not;  but  the  trust  of  the  servant  must  be  in  the  Lord,  and 
not  in  any  contract  he  may  make  with  the  Church. 

Our  Heavenly  Father's  promises  are  boundless  and  un- 
failing. No  one  of  His  trusting  children  will  ever  be  suffered 
to  want.  The  Lord  is  very  careful  of  His  faithful  servants ; 
and  the  command  to  "  touch  not  His  anointed  and  do  His 
prophets  no  harm  "  covers  everything  that  touches  their  in- 
terests, or  their  service,  and  forbids  the  great  wrong  that 
would  result  from  their  neglect.     They  are  ambassadors  of 


ADDENDA.  247 

a  king,  and  should  be  honorably  treated  and  cared  for,  by 
all  His  true  subjects  and  people,  for  His  great  name's  sake. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  undervalue  their  claims ;  or  to 
deny  that  His  Church  may  too  lightly  estimate  them,  and  so 
have  failed  in  its  duty  toward  the  interests  of  His  king- 
dom, by  neglecting  to  j^rovide  the  needful  expenses  of  its 
advancement  over  the  earth. 

A  solemn  resi^onsibility  undoubtedly  rests  upon  all  who 
withhold  the  means  or  the  influence  with  which  God  has 
intrusted  them,  from  such  obvious  duties. 

But  we  would  invert  the  order  of  His  promdence,  if  we 
were  to  make  it  a  condition  of  our  acceptance  of  God's  call 
to  His  service,  that  we  should  receive  an  assurance  from  any 
human  organization,  (as  His  Church  militant  on  earth  must 
always  be),  of  a  x^i'ovision  for  ourselves  or  our  families,  in 
return  for  the  devotion  of  our  time  to  the  proclamation  of 
Christ's  Gospel,  or  to  the  feeding  of  His  sheep  and  lambs, 
which  He  hath  made  a  condition  only  of  our  love  to  Him 
{Jolm,  xxi.  15-17). 

If  the  Church  fails  in  its  duty,  that  will  be  no  excuse  for 
failure  in  ours ;  and  those  who  put  their  hand  to  the  plough 
and  then  draw  back,  or  even  "  look  back,"  longingly.  He 
says  "  are  not  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God,"  and  that  His 
"  soul  hath  no  pleasure  in  them." 

The  keystone  of  the  arch  of  God's  covenant  is  contained 
in  the  central  verse  of  the  Bible,  the  8th  verse  of  the  118th 
Psalm :  "  It  is  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord  than  to  put  con- 
fidence in  man."  On  this  truth  rests  firmly  the  whole  struc- 
ture of  the  Church,  the  whole  dependence  of  the  soul. 


248  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS. 

George  Miiller,  who  still  lives  as  a  witness  of  the  power 
and  willingness  of  God  to  provide  all  things  needed  for  His 
work,  testifies  that  more  tlianJiGe  'millions  of  dollars  have 
been  sent  to  him  for  the  Lord's  service,  without  a  single  ap- 
plication to  any  human  being,  but  solely  in  answer  to  prayer. . 

Such  offerings  the  minister  of  the  Gospel  may  accept,  with 
perfect  liberty  and  a  dependence  upon  the  Lord  alone ;  who 
has  power  to  turn  the  hearts  of  men  "  as  a  man  turneth  a 
water-course  in  the  field,"  and  who  will  incline  them  to  re- 
spond to  the  faithful  service  of  His  trusting  followers. 

The  difference  is  a  vital  one,  not  only  to  the  messenger 
but  to  the  power  and  authority  of  his  message,  as  well  as  to 
a  purity  and  loyalty  of  attitude  toward  his  Lord  and  King. 

"  Standing  between  the  living  and  the  dead,"  whether  in 
the  world  or  in  the  professing  Church,  he  is  tempted  by  no 
offers,  deterred  by  no  apprehensions,  from  a  faithful  decla- 
ration of  the ''whole  counsel  of  God;"  " rightly  dividing 
the  word  of  truth,"  and  "  feeding  the  flock  of  Christ  with 
the  sincere  milk  of  that  word." 

Such  a  devoted  servant  will  place  a  humble  estimate  upon 
his  own  labors,  but  he  may  rest  assured  that  his  Master  ap- 
preciates them.  Much  that  seems  to  us  poorly  done,  our 
Lord  accounts  as  "  well  done,"  because  "  done  unto  Him." 
As  with  the  tapestry- weavers,  our  side  may  seem  rough  and 
unfinished,  but 

"  He  whom  we  work  for,  sees  the  fairer  side." 

He  accounts  as  "  beautiful  upon  the  mountains,  the  feet 
of  those  who  preach  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel  of  peace,"  " 
"  who  passing  through  the  valley  of  Baca,  make  it  a  well." 


ADDENDA.  249 

» 

"  Fear  not,  I  am  thy  shield  and  thy  exceeding  great  re- 
ward," He  says  to  his  faithful  servants. 

In  an  old  edition  of  the  Life  of  Thomas  Aquinas,  there  is 
on  the  title-page  a  quaint  engraviag  of  the  venerable  saint, 
kneeling  before  a  vision  of  his  Lord.  "  Thomas,"  the  Saviour 
is  saying,  "  thou  hast  done  well,  what  dost  thou  choose  for 
thy  reward?"  and  the  answer  is: 

"  Give  me  thyself,  my  Lord, 
Thyself  as  my  reward." 

"We  read  that  "  He  that  Avinneth  souls  is  wise; "  and  "  they 
that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  firmament  and  they  that  turn 
.many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever." 

Let  none  be  turned  aside  or  discouraged  "  by  reason  of  the 
way,"  its  hardships  or  disappointments ;  or  by  the  very  at- 
trition of  the  contest,  which  may  so  wear  upon  our  strength 
and  imperil  the  quiet  of  our  souls,  that  we  would  fain  "  fly 
away  and  be  at  rest." 

"  Oh !  let  us  not  this  thought  allow — 
The  heat,  the  dust  upon  our  brow, 
Signs  of  the  contest  we  may  wear; 
Yet  thus  we  shall  appear  more  fair 
In  our  Almighty  Master's  eye. 
Than  if,  in  fear  to  lose  the  bloom 
Or  ruffle  the  soul's  lightest  plume, 
We  from  the  strife  should  fly. 
And  for  the  rest — in  weariness. 
In  disai)pointment,  or  disti'ess — 
When  strength  decays,  or  hope  grows  dim, 
We  ever  may  recur  to  Him, 
Who  has  the  golden  oil  divine, 
Wherewith  to  feed  our  failing  urns; 
Who  watches  every  lamp  that  burns 
Before  His  sacred  shrine."* 

Thomas  Kimber. 


♦  " 


To  a  friend  entering  the  ministry  " — Archbishop  Trench. 


J" 


tbe  late  tibomas  Itdinbcr. 


/  ^  Thomas  Kimber  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
'  in  1825.  His  parents  were  active  and  con- 
sistent members  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
and  sought  to  bring  up  their  large  family  in 
the  nurtm'e  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 
Thomas  was  warm-hearted  and  impulsive, 
generous  and  sensitive,  and  early  gave 
promise  of  a  useful  life. 

the  Master's  service.     The  only  stipend  he 

and  very  charitable  in  his  feelings  towards 
all  fellow  Christians,  he  was,  nevertheless, 
mtensely  a  Friend. 

About  five  years  ago  the  Lord  called  his 

faithfuJ  servant  away  from  the  field  of  active 

;     fervice  mto  the  closer  fellowship  of  sulfer- 

I    ing.   With  beautiful  patience  he  endured  the 

pain  and  distress  of  a  wasting  and  incurable 

disease      Under  the  fire  of  this  sharp  disci- 

pime,  the  grace  of  the  Lord  became  more 

and  more  manifest  in  him.     He  hved  in  an 

atmosphere  of  prayer;  in  the  sleepless  hours 

of  the  night  he  would  recount  God's  mercies, 

and  speak  of  his   goodness.      During   tliis 

whTw-      '"u^u  ,*^^  sustaining  grace  of  Him 
who  Himself  "bare  all  our  sicknesses,"  he 

.'  r/^^':i  t°  ^'"t«  a  ^•"^•""e  of  essays 
^ntit  ed,  "  The  Early  Christian  Church/' 
^^hlch  he  rejoiced  to  live  to  see  published  in 
Its  second  edition.  Into  this  work  he  con- 
timl         ^   thought  and  research  of  a  life 

In  the  dehberations  of  the  church  he  was^ 
a  wise  counsellor.  The  seal  of  the  Lord  was 
upon  his  faithful  labours  ;  souls  were  con- 
verted  and  behevers  strengthened.  Not 
less  marked  was  the  blessing  which  attended 
the  Gospel  Union  work  in  which  he  eno-an-ed 
in  the  mtervals  spent  at  home.  Moreover 
his  pen  was  seldom  idle ;  and  in  1887  th& 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Letters  was  conferred 
upon   hiin  by  Haverford   College. 

For  twelve  years,  froixfc 
187-i  to  1886,  his  life  was 
devoted  to  almost  con- 
tinuous evangelistic  ser- 
vice, ill  the  course  of 
wliich  he  visited,  in  the 
love  of  the  Gospel,  tert 
of  the  eleven  Yearly 
I\Icetings  of  Friends  on 
the  American  Continent, 
some  of  them  several 
times.  In  the  prosecutioib 
of  this  work  he  travelled 
much  both  in  the  heat  of 
summer  and  the  cold  of 
winter,  riding  many  a, 
mile  over  rough  country 
roads  seeking  out  remote 
and    isolated     meetings. 


xm:  end  was  a  sweet  and  fitting  one  for  a 
life  like  his.  On  the  morning  of  December 
23,  last,  Mr.  Kimber  listened  to  the  accus- 
tomed morning  reading.  Psalm  xxiii.  was 
selected.  He  followed  in  prayer,  saying : — 
**  I  have  held  up  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  as 
long  as  I  could.  Now  they  comfort  me.  I 
have  cared  for  the  httle  ones  of  thy  flock 
to  the  last.  Thou  art  with  me  in  the  valley." 
Then  came  intercessory  prayer  for  beloved 
relatives  and  fi'iends.  After  this  he  knelt 
by  the  bedside,  communing  with  his 
heavenly  Father.  Subsequently,  quite  ex- 
hausted, he  lay  down.  A  few  quivering 
breaths,  and  all  was  over.  His  eyes  were 
■closed  as  if  asleep,  and  there  settled  upon 
his  face  an  ineffable  look  of  peace  and  rest, 
every  line  of  pain  gone.  It  was  the  look  of 
one  who  was  "  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible." 
In  life  and  death  the  Lord  was  with  him, 
and  his  memory  is  a  joy  to  many. 


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